Manuel ...

Yesterday was Manuel's last day at work prior to joining all the retired staff personnel who have been recently leaving the Training Centre I work for.

It is when we see colleagues emptying their drawers and packing the things they grew so attached to over the years that we realise we might be among the next "lot" ... or maybe what you actually think about is how old you have become and to which extent the enterprise you have dedicated yourself to and worked all your life for does recognise your importance ... (if you happen to have or have had any).

Whenever someone leaves under similar circumstances the discourse seems to always be the same, whether you made the enterprise the premises of your regular job or contributed towards its "growth" in a committed way ...

A few years ago I started distributing photos (I had taken over the years) at work to those I felt might be interested in having them apart from myself and Manuel was one of those. He has had the need to show it to me yesterday ... (I feel I know why ...)

The photo taken in 1993 shows him (an Administrative Head then) and I during one of my English classes. Many things have changed since then ... we look older ... Directors very rarely attend English classes nowadays ... the focus of the overall training has been Air Traffic Control almost exclusively ... and the rest is history ... memories ... some disappointing moments ...

 

Manuel and I

Manuel started at the then recently opened Training Centre the same year as I did (1982) and was always recognised as being the "backbone" of centre ... nobody seemed to know as much about the centre strategic approaches from the administrative point of view as he did ... and that's how his career has come to an end ... I doubt anyone will ever be able to "substitute" him ...

As he was leaving ... two colleagues from the Administrative sector and two colleagues from the General Training sector paid him their due respect ... by showing up to say good bye ... (that's the least one could and should have done ...), whilst many others simply ignored the fact ... as if that could have been a day like any other ...

Manuel with Isabel Pinto Basto (left) and Ana Coimbra (right).

Manuel between João (left) and Ana Borges (right).