A great teammate
COVID disappeared the only lesbian friend I have ever had. When I left my municipal parks job, Jenn stayed on because it was her best job ever. She enjoyed her trail work, and she got great pay and benefits. I helped her with references, and she wasn’t the only one.
Every spring, people approach me for solid Red Seal journeyman work references. I’ve never lied so much in my life, but in Jenn’s case, I didn’t have to. She was a solid landscaper. Her line trimming was better than what the boys did, and I wasn’t afraid to tell them that.
Jenn also looked like one of the boys, with short hair, humble hills where big breasts could be, and facial features I wouldn’t describe as feminine. If I were heading for the washrooms and saw Jenn walking out, I wouldn’t think anything of it. But she is a great girl. I just had to get used to both of us staring at the same beautiful woman walking by our work truck.
Best prank ever
Jenn always pulled her weight and hustled. The poor woman even tolerated my outrageous pranks, which would not be tolerated in 2026. Once -and I’m not proud of it- I stuffed two clean syringes into her classic lunch box while she worked. When lunch came at twelve o’clock, our two new team members were already sitting down on the sidewalk curb; and I was leaning against the back of the truck. Jenn walked up with her lunch box and sat down next to her co-workers to enjoy her lunch on a sunny day. When she opened her lunch box, two syringes spilled out onto the pavement, which left her new co-workers horrified. Then it got even better. Jenn jumped up, embarrassed, and rolled up both of her sleeves to show us she didn’t have any needle marks. By this point, I was dying with laughter, and amazingly, we stayed friends; we never saw the new co-workers again!
Once I left to work with my current day-job employer as a landscape manager, I stopped seeing Jenn. We didn’t hang out outside work, but I did stay in touch through Facebook and text messages.
COVID hits
Then everything went to hell with COVID, and I stopped seeing Jenn’s Facebook posts. It was a weird time, so I didn’t think too much of it. My attention was purely focused on my own survival, both physically and financially. Luckily, self-isolated people appreciated seeing us once a week because it brought them some sense of normalcy. I suspect seeing their lawns and garden beds overgrown would have added extra stress to their lives. I worked all the way through the pandemic, which today seems like a miracle.
Jenn wasn’t so lucky, as I later found out. She was classified as a temporary full-time worker, so she got laid off every November and, called back in March. But the municipality had to make changes to get through COVID. Temps didn’t get called back, and office workers were recruited into park work because full-time permanent employees have to be taken care of first. That’s the power of unions.
Craziness
Now, here the story gets crazy. I’m writing all of this from comments I heard. I wish it were all wrong.
Since she didn’t get called back, Jenn had to rely on unemployment, which only covers about fifty to sixty percent of your regular pay. Somehow, Jenn lost her place, her Jeep, and her dog. Ouch! There was a moment when my boss briefly considered shutting down his company, so I know I was very close to stressing. But, unlike Jenn, I have well-to-do in-laws in Japan, who could help us out, if necessary.
I think Jenn went downhill fast after that. I understand she began stalking city employees and randomly showing up at their residences. It got so bad, the police had to be called in. Sadly, Jenn’s father from Ontario refused to come and help her. That says a lot.
Then I heard somebody say that Jenn was on the street, and I really hope they’re wrong. I have no idea how to find the woman. Perhaps she will come across this post and contact me. She is the only good lesbian friend I have ever had.
