GRAVETTE — Clem Schmidt, 43, of Gravette, received a commendation for his work and a promotion at the Downtown Garage but, unfortunately, he let it go to his head and he now faces the possibility of a demotion.
It all started last month when Schmidt was changing the oil in Sarah Gray's car and discovered a leak in her brake line which could have caused a braking failure and an accident. Schmidt reported the leak to Mike Henson, owner of the auto repair business, who then notified Gray of the mechanical issue and had Schmidt make the repair.
Gray expressed her gratitude to Henson, and Henson commended Schmidt and promoted him from the grease pit to a post as mechanic's apprentice. He also was given a 25 cent per hour raise.
That's when things began to go wrong and Schmidt let his success go to his head. According to Henson, Schmidt showed up for work the next day wearing a shirt and tie and telling customers that he was now a ranking executive at the auto repair business.
"If I am going to be helping make executive decisions and diagnose and repair potentially life-threatening transportation issues, I figured I ought to dress like an executive," Schmidt said. I'm a professional now and need to dress like a professional."
Henson might not have been overly concerned about the shirt and tie, but Schmidt went entirely too far when he demanded that he be able to inspect the work of a second mechanic in the shop and was even caught inspecting Henson's repair work and trying to give an extra turn to oil plugs and lug nuts.
"Schmidt isn't satisfied to just do his own work," said Neil Turner, who has worked at Downtown Garage for 28 years. "He now thinks he has to check my work before customers can pick up their cars. I've been doing this job since Schmidt was in diapers; I don't need him looking over my shoulder," Turner said.
Though she would only speak to us on the condition of anonymity, Schmidt's wife, too, said her husband's commendation and promotion had gone to his head.
"He comes home and asks me if anyone's called for him, and he asks me to take dictation and send off his methods of changing oil to technical magazines," she said. "This has all gone too far. He won't even take me out to eat at a restaurant in town. He says we need to go to one of those fancy restaurants in Rogers or Fayetteville where all the rich executives eat."
His pastor concurs.
"Clem always used to come into the church and and sit in the back, humble and with his head bowed," Rev. Longspoken said. "Now he comes and sits right up front and sings so loudly, he drowns out other worshippers. He's even made suggestions to me about things I could do to make my sermons better. And last Sunday, he offered to start and lead a weekend seminar focused on how to be successful in life."
To learn more about the condition, we called the mental health unit at the Gravette hospital and were told that the condition is more common than most people think. Sometimes, all it takes is a compliment or a little flattery and it triggers something in the mind which causes the brain to swell. The treatment can involve a surgical procedure to drain off excess fluids and swelling until the brain returns to its normal size and better fits into the cranial cavity.
Henson, Schmidt's boss, doesn't think the new health-care program forced on him by the federal government or his workman's comp insurance will cover the procedure, so he is getting ready to try another procedure recommended by an online psychiatric service which offers diagnosis and self-help treatment options for everything from schizophrenia to depression. The website suggested that gentle letdowns could reduce the effects of letting things go to one's head. Henson said he's going to give it a try on Monday. He plans to put Schmidt back in the grease pit and, if that doesn't work, he's going to begin chipping away at the 25 cent per hour raise until his head returns to normal.
S.A. Tired covers fictitious news from an unrealistic perspective for the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. News and views in Spinning the News are claimed by no one else but the author.
Editorial on 10/12/2016