Truth. And there is the rub.

The old guard are the sky gods. Anybody with a 30 + year pin around here is just different than the rank and file. I have seen that most of them have been smart with their money and really just work because they want to. Most are happy men / women. They have been there and done that to the point that they know what's going on with this company. They get time off (that most of us can't) by instructing or doing some other kind of "company business", they play golf with the right people and sometimes simply making a phone call to their other buddy of 30 + years, who is in charge of this or that, gets them just about anything they want.

Now if a Virgin comes in hear and ends up senior to a 15 year Native, there will be grumbles. If a Virgin comes in here and ends up senior to a 20 year Native, the torches will be lit. If a Virgin comes in here and ends up in our top 10%, Lord help us. The sky gods will burn down Brad's house! Then the wheels will fall off the cart for years until all the sky god's retire.

In what universe can a man with 9 years service expect to be equal (in seniority) to a man with 30+ years? But that may very will happen and there is not a darn thing any of us can do to stop it. So - if it happens, there will be Virgins who literally hit the jackpot. If there is any justice in the universe, I hope it's they fella who is loosing his wife, or the guy who has had an especially hard career or at the very least - someone who respects and understands that in no way are they deserving of the seniority number that they have been given.

But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.