Geep

I had an idea for another post today but then I was reminded of the fact that is is 9/11...and then I was reminded of how I was personally affected by that day...and then I smiled as I thought of Gerald P. Fischer (aka Geep).

He was my second real boss in life and he was a mix of adorable, frustrating, compassionate, brilliant and everything in between. I'm thinking "nutty professor" is a term that might befit him. I worked under his leadership at Booz Allen and Hamilton where I was cutting my teeth as a real-life Management Consultant. He was scattered, messy, flighty, warm, generous, insightful and with all that mixed together he endeared himself to people. He was as genuine as you could get and he didn't make excuses for his limitations he was just what he was and often you'd find yourself saying...that's "just Geep".


I left Booz Allen in 1996 to move to London and then to move to San Francisco. That is where I got the call a few days after 9/11 from my friend from "way back when" who told me that Geep was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was at the Pentagon in a meeting with an Army client when the building was struck and he unfortunately did not survive. What a twist of fate because really, that wasn't his place of work...he worked in a totally different area in DC (Tyson's Corner) and it just so happened that on his day he was where he was. As I had been processing the tragedy from the days before I had marveled and found myself feeling lucky that I didn't know anyone who had been killed....and then I found out that I was wrong.



Although Geep is gone, and although after a while he wasn't a big part of my life...I smile when I think of him...when someone endears themselves to you, you can't help but get a lift in you face and your heart. He was a good man, with a good heart and he looked a little like this (no offense Geep). I have an almost daily reminder of Geep because for a wedding gift he gave us a bagel cutter...whenever I'm making breakfast for myself or others I am reminded of "my Geep" and I smile and I look up and I say...thank you Geep for being a part of my life (as crazy as it was then).



A fellow colleague wrote this today on facebook...and this even makes my memory of him more solid and warm and cozy...

I remember my old boss Geep Fisher, and his Devil May Care attitude. It was his wife's birthday, and he had sent her flowers. She couldn't reach him to thank him, b/c he had gone to a meeting at the Pentagon. The night before, he had told a coworker, "We're all living on borrowed time."

This memory of Geep helps to remind me that people who come and go in our lives are really still with us...and as we remember them, if we can 'visit them' in love and joy...they live on and their influence and impact can remain as pure and loving as it was when it was felt in person.

Miss you Geep!