Jay Shows / Guest columnist

I was never notified of the change so I was totally caught off guard.

I rechecked the chamber’s post office box and confirmed that there had been no notification placed there.

I reviewed my most recent past emails and found no notice among them.

I reviewed my answering machine messages thinking that maybe a notice had been sent that way.

It had not.

It is beyond me how I could have missed getting word.

What I am referring to, dear readers, is an apparent change in the dress code of what is allowable as professional business attire.

Now I am not referring about the companies that normally require “business attire” for their employees (i.e. coats and ties for men/dress suits for ladies) but allow “casual Fridays.”

For example, I know that two of our local banks allow this and I think it is great.

On Fridays I can go into either one of them and instead of seeing loan officers in their normal coats and ties, I see them wearing nice, pull-over, cotton knit shirts with their bank’s neatly monogrammed logos.

This is fine and I love the idea that some companies do this.

I did not need notification of this for I have long been aware of “casual Fridays.”

However, I did need advance notification of “tempting Tuesdays.”

Say you weren’t aware of “tempting Tuesdays?”

Well, that’s my point-I wasn’t either!

Tuesday of last week, an attractive business lady representing an out-of-town company walked into my office at the chamber wearing an outfit that would have made a Bourbon Street club-dancer blush.

(Not that I have ever been in one of those clubs, mind you.)

Seeing the outfit caused a shock to my system-it took my breath away while simultaneously making me want to engage in heavy breathing.

And although the temperature in the office was thermostatically controlled at a comfortable 78 degrees, the moment this lady walked in wearing her “tempting Tuesdays” attire I started sweating like a turkey approaching Thanksgiving.

It took every sinew of discipline on my part to maintain only eye contact.

I was not about to allow this lady to see my eyes wander below her neckline, even though her necklace covered more skin than the upper part of her blouse.

In a voice as steady as I could command, I introduced myself, all the while keeping total eye contact.

I debated feverishly inside on whether I should ask the lady to have a seat.

I wasn’t sure if she had enough skirt material to make sitting possible without causing me to have a coronary.

By this time I could feel the sweat beads on my balding head begin to flow down the side of my face like the Nile River during peak rainy season.

The lady asked for a chamber directory which allowed me to gladly start walking toward the rack.

(Readers, I am referring here to the rack that is on the chamber wall-the one that holds the directories.)

While I was getting the chamber directory, the lady noticed the New Era baseball caps that we have displayed on a book shelf here in the chamber.

She asked about them and I proudly told her that they were manufactured right here in Demopolis by local New Era employees.

She said she was a big Braves fan and asked which my favorite team was.

As I turned around with the chamber directory in my hand and caught full sight of her again I was surprised to hear myself blurting out the only thing that popped into my mind at that time-“I guess I’m a big fan of the Twins.

The lady took the directory, thanked me, and walked out of the chamber office.

I went and had a seat at my desk and tried to regain my composure….and murmured to myself-“You know, the pay is not all that great around here but it does have some benefits.”

I have to ask you, though readers-Is there a new business dress-code that allows this or was this business lady just inappropriately dressed?

I just need to know what to expect next Tuesday.