Real Life Myths Exposed

Last week a friend introduced me to a show called Mythbusters. The premise of this show is that these two guys go around trying to prove if myths are true or not. Important things like if a jawbreaker is heated in the microwave and then bitten into will it blow up (the answer is yes and it will burn you pretty bad). In the spirit of my new found knowledge I thought I would share the answers to two of the more interesting myths I have encountered.

Myth Number One: Pirates wore eye-patches to cover their glass/hollow eye.

This turned out to be false. The real reason (beside the obvious fashion statement) is that it allowed one eye to adjust to the dark more quickly. They were constantly going below deck where it was dark. By simply moving the eye patch to the other eye they were able to see their way around more quickly. It was simply a method to improve their night vision.

The weird thing is when I first heard this my reaction was not that I was surprised or even impressed. My reaction was how did I never, in all my years on this earth, wonder why the eye-patch. I just sort of accepted that was what pirates did, sort of like taxes and death. Random tangent but seriously have you ever questioned the whole purpose of an eye-patch for a pirate?

Myth Number Two: Nice guys finish last.

This one I became the myth buster on (but not with the same title as that would be a copyright infringement). Look at the two nominations that were submitted for this month’s winner of our Extraordinary Feats Award. It is people like Pete that make me glad that I work at Verity Credit Union (and it isn’t because of his endless candy supply...well maybe it is a little).

Nomination 1:
I would like to nominate Mr. Pete! Mr. Pete ALWAYS greets everyone with a smile, and is always ready to help with anything that he might be able to assist with. I think he goes above and beyond with his kindness towards all employees and members, and demonstrates what it means to be a great roll model. For those of us who have had the pleasure of attending the 7 habits classes, I think that Pete creates his own sunny happy weather- and shares it with all who come in contact!

Many times, I have been in the Branch, and at every opportunity to serve- he is there. This, I believe, goes a long, long ways in having the best Quality Service for our members. It is obvious that he takes great pride in what he does, and for this I believe he deserves to be recognized with an Extraordinary Feats Award.

Nomination 2:
Extraordinary can sometimes be found in the beauty of a very ordinary day. Take your typical day and you will find Pete offering to help most anyone that comes his way, whether this has to do with branching, staffing, or eating Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. He is this beacon of light that shines on us and warms us with laughter, kindness and joy. He cares and now I will give my soap box speech about caring: you can’t pay people to care; they either do or they don’t. He does. This is good.

When I think of extraordinary I think of the kinds of things that we would want our ideal employees to do. Be a model of our corporate culture, promote servant leadership and strive to make things (no matter how big or small) better. Pete does that. I think it’s inspiring. If you need a specific story, here goes:

I was working on a Saturday and Pete noticed. He said, “what are you doing here?”
“Trying to crank things out but my computer is all frozen right now. That’s so frustrating because I can’t get it fixed” I replied.
He nodded in empathetic agreement and said, “but you look fabulous, just so you know.”
I laughed. Pete has a way with words.
Not five minutes later he sends Val over with an interoffice envelope. She said, “I am supposed to give this to you but not bother you in case your crank is turning.”
I open the envelope. It’s filled with candy.
My day is better, because of Pete.

Pete is both a nice guy and a winner. Clearly, with the help of Pete, I have proved this myth wrong. I think there could be a future career in this for me.