Lies of a Rich Man (Part One)

The Rich Man was my boss's boss. I worked for the worst Science Museum in the world. That wasn't just my opinion but the opinion of a group of international exhibit builders that held a convention in Las Vegas in 2002 or 2001. I talked to these exhibit builders on a regular basis and they couldn't believe how poor the science content was in the museum.

I was an exhibit tech and my boss was named Dave. Dave was the most vulgar man I have ever known in my life. I heard him brag about abusing women when he was a young man. He even claimed to have dumped a nude girl on a bridge over the Missouri River when he and his friends were done with her.

My real trouble with Dave began when the Fire Marshall made a sexual remark towards me.
This wasn't the first time someone of the same sex made a pass at me but this was only the second time someone demanded sex from me to keep my job. The first time I quit a dream job before it began. This time I told the Fire Marshall what he could do to himself in very mean terms.

"I'm the Fire Marshall, I can shut this museum down!"

"I don't care."

"I'm going to have the apartment you live in condemned."

"I don't live in this city, just how are you going to do that?"

"Some of your exhibit tech friends do. Where do they live?"

"None of your business."

For the rest of the work day the Fire Marshall of a major city tried to find out where my friends lived so he could condemned their apartment because I had stood up to him when he made unwanted sexual advances towards me. Gay or straight there are jerks everywhere.
At the end of the day I went over to the Fire Marshall and spoke.

"Just because I'm the only Exhibit Tech that was willing to work in the Collection Department with someone with full blown Aides doesn't mean I'm Gay. It just means I'm not a bigot or that I'm scared of Aides. I'm going to lose this job soon enough without your help but if you don't leave me and my friends alone in the here and now I'll make sure you loose your job Mr. Fire Marshall."

I never heard anymore about the Fire Marshall's little problem with me. I had seen Dave bribe the Fire Marshall with Major League Baseball tickets for the many fire violations in the museum.

There were rumors that Dave had bribed the Fire Marshall with male prostitutes but I honestly don't know if there is any truth to that. I do know that the Fire Marshall never made any inspections on days that I worked from then till the end of my employment at the museum.

I wanted to quit the hell job but I seemed to be the only person that cared about the safety of the children that came to the museum. I would say something about how unsafe the museum was for the children and the answer would always be the same;

"Don't worry about it Robert, we have three million dollars of insurance."

I felt I was working at the museum for a reason and on April 13, 2002 that reason came.

"All Exhibit Techs report to the Bike on a Wire we have a girl upside down and can't get her off the bike!"

End of Part One.