Fears and tears

On the same topic of programmers and the general public, I have an anecdote. I don't think I've written on here about it before (I did a search and didn't come up with anything).

Going back in the Wayback Machine, I'm in the Math Dept. at the college where I worked. Sitting next to me is a woman named Pearl. She is an older woman who was worked in the dept. for many years - typing tests and such merrily on her typewriter.

She has been told she has to use the computer. She is afraid. She has called me (the training specialist) in to help her adjust.

Pearl tells me that she knows she will do something bad to the computer (at that time, a mainframe and 'work stations'). I tell her there is nothing she could possibly do to 'hurt' the computer - well, computers, since there were 3 of them.

One evening not too long after this encounter, I'm hanging around the Computer Center, waiting for a co-worker with whom I carpool to work. The night system admin comes out of his cube and says something is eating up all the disk space on one of the computers ... and he has identified the culprit user.

Yes, we run upstairs to the Math Dept. and yes, there is Pearl, working late. Her monitor screen is filled with code. She is near tears.

"I told you! I told you I'd do something bad!" she says to me.

Dan (the admin) and I look at each other, look at Pearl, and I sigh, smile and say, "Yes ... yes, you did."

Then we all 3 burst into laughter. When we first walked in, I thought Dan was going to strangle her.

I don't remember what she it was she did wrong, but I do remember her job depended on her learning to use the computer.

She and I got to be pretty good friends through constant contact.