(part of our Tales of the WLBOTT series)
Founding Elder JP knocked on Sister Magdalena‘s office door. Technically, it was the office of the Mayordomo de Semana, but it was Sister M‘s week to be Mayordomo.
“Hola, Mayordomo. We’ve got a problem.”
Sister Magdalena looked up from her paperwork and gave an eye-roll. “When you say ‘we’ve got a problem,” you mean ‘I’ve got a problem.'”
“Let’s call it a WLBOTT problem. And ultimately, it’s all for the greater glory of WLBOTT.”
Sister Magdalena gave Elder JP a second eye-roll. Elder JP knew he was usually safe until the third eye-roll, but decided not to press his luck. “I was just talking to the Ag folks, and we have a surplus. A plethora of produce, if you will. Can you call around and see if we can get a booth in a farmers’ market?”
“I’m on it.”
Mayordomo de Semana
WLBOTT may look like anarchy, but there is a method to the madness. Once a week, the Elders gathered to select, by lottery, the following week’s Mayordomo de Semana.
The Mayordomo de Semana’s main responsibilities were to organize the work schedule and plan the menu for the Ladle & Lube, place the orders for the restaurant, and coordinate any maintenance issues. But they also had some sweeping powers – they could issue orders and establish polices for any aspect of WLBOTT. How did this not turn into a 7-day totalitarian dictatorship? People can just say “no”. Let me tell you a story.
Fairly early on in Fred’s penitence retreat to WLBOTT, he won the weekly Mayordomo de Semana lottery. Fred, being a fidgety and creative middle-schooler, let the power go to his head. He decided that the WLBOTT team would take a field trip to the Waco Zoo. “Thursday is Zoo Day!” proclaimed Fred. Now, the Waco Zoo is really cool, but unfortunately the trip never happened. On the Thursday morning, Fred went over to talk to the chef at the Ladle & Lube (this was before Kennetta joined the group) and demanded sandwiches for the trip. Bruck, the chef at the time, asked Fred if the bus company allowed food.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, check with them, then we’ll see,” said Bruck.
“But I’m the Mayordomo! Someone should have scheduled the bus.”
It turned out that nothing was planned, other than Fred’s directive. No zoo trip.
So, we do have a way to resolve disputes. If someone has a problem with the Mayordomo de Semana, they can call a meeting of the Elders, which convenes immediately. By the way, the Elders hate this, and are usually pretty grumpy, so its best not to call them. The Elders will listen and take a vote, and things move forward. But… the loser in the dispute cleans the chicken coops for the next week. This tends to encourage people to work things out.
Many years ago, Elder JP had special ordered an ornate hourglass, calibrated to exactly 8 1/2 minutes – the time needed for a perfect soft-boiled egg. He placed the hourglass, which came to be known as “The Hourglass of Destiny (HoD)” to the office of the mayordomo de semana. Whenever someone entered the Mayordomo office, the acting Mayordomo de Semana could turn over the HoD, and summarily end the meeting when the last grain of sand dropped. Of course, the Mayordomo de Semana could lay the HoD on it’s side at any time, to grant extra time to the visitor.
(to be continued…)