You're Over the Hill

Theme Thursday is upon us. This week's theme is "Over the Hill". We'll go with a little story...

“I’m here for the heavy construction job, where do I need to go?”

“You’re over the hill,” replied the employment assistant in a dead-pan tone as he went about reorganizing the little collection of robots on his desk.

“I’m over the hill? Why that’s age discrimination! Look you twerp, I may be 45 but I did four sub three hour marathons last year. I’m in plenty good shape for the job.”

“You’re over the hill,” he repeated, rolling his eyes at the mere insidiousness of somebody approaching him twice in a row.

“Now listen, I’m not going to take No for an answer. Why I can do 300 pushups right here if you’d like proof. I can even bench press this teenager.”

He suddenly grabs a lanky teen waiting in line and bench presses him over his head like a wiggling branch of wood.

“Hey, put me down,” cries the teenager struggling, “I’m a teen…I’ve got enough self confidence issues without having you bench press me.”

Placing the teenager back on his feet and into the line, he goes back up to the desk for a third time. “I want that position!”

“Sir, I don’t know how to be more direct. You’re over the hill!”

“That’s it. I’ve HAD IT with this place. You’re all a bunch of inconsiderate idiots!” he screams at the top of his lungs as he barges his way out onto the sun-drenched pavement in front of the employment office.

Writhing in anger, he needs a release; an immediate difficult release of energy. Spying the street heading up steeply, he begins to run a full speed. The road up the hill is indeed steep and after several minutes he’s forced to slow down his pace in order to catch his breath.

He peaks the hilltop and then begins a steep descent down the other side. As the hillside slowly levels out again, he approaches a large construction company. The sign at the gate says “Yore Construction Company.”

Suddenly he stops in the utter embarrassment in his realization: The man at the employment agency wasn’t telling him “You’re over the hill” as in too old, he was telling him “Yore, over the hill” as in the Yore Construction Company is just over the hill, go see them.