Hi Jerry
Just popping in to wish you and everybody else who frequents this thread a very nice Christmas and a healthy and good New Year.

When I was about 27, I was Cost & Management Accountant for a moulding company in Birmingham UK, owned by Guinness the brewery.
I had this person who worked for me, who was a really good worker and great guy to work with and him and his wife had become freinds over the years. He was 62 at the time. In June of that year, he suffered a heart attack and was still at home in December, unfit to come to work. It was impossible to know when he would be back. We were all under a lot of pressure trying to do his job as well as we could.

Anyway in early December, I was called to the Directors office who informed me that he would have to be replaced. I argued that we couldn't do that to him, especially as it was coming up to Christmas and that it might just finish him off.
He said that Guinness, would put him on full private pension for the rest of his life. That is when private pensions were worth their weight in Gold.
In the end I had to give in and it got round to who should tell him and his wife and when. The director wanted to do it after Christmas, but I felt that I should do it now, as he worked directly for me and I had known and worked with him for many years.
Anyway, I went to visit him and his wife at their home. I felt terrible and was wondering how I could deliver the news.
His wife answered the door with a smile and that made me feel worse. We drank tea and discussed how he was and what they were going to do for Christmas etc etc (anything but discuss the real issue).
Finally, I had no choice but to announce it to them.
I said that I had some news for them and that I hoped it would be good news. I told them what had been decided and he started crying, and I thought "oh my god, I wish i wasn't here dong this".
I apologised to them and said how bad I felt about it.
He said "you have just answered my prayers"
I looked at him in shock and asked him what he meant.
He explained that he had been worried sick about his future and going on Pension was the best thing that could have happened to them and didn't know how to thank me and the company enough. They said that they could now enjoy Christmas.
We remained freinds and I visited them every so often, until I moved to Scotland. He actually lived to a ripe old age.

I have never forgotten that experience, and I realised that this was one occasion when having to tell somebody what I thought was bad news before Christmas was in actual fact the best thing I did.

Thought I would share that with you. It suddenly came to mind reading the latest block of posts.

Les