Confessions of a Workaholic

Preface

I have written the following pages as a serious jest. Laughter, ridicule, cynicism, sarcasm, irony, caricature, and poignancy appear here and there. I hope the reader recognizes this and does not take me so seriously that he cannot chuckle with me. On the other hand, I hope that he can take me seriously enough to know that often laughter, especially laughter at oneself, is earned at the price of pain. I have paid some of that bill, I think, which gives me the right to laugh at myself as a person compelled to work, and to attempt to josh my reader out of the habit, too. But I hope for heaven's sake that my reader seasons what I have said with a grain of salty humor.

I am indebted to Guy Brown for originally encouraging me to write this book. His investment of confidence is an inspiration to me. I also appreciate the careful editorial advice and detailed assistance given to me by Richard Marek of World Publishing. My family–my wife, my sons, and our daughter-in-law–have provided an atmosphere of conversation and rollicking happiness as I have written these pages. My colleagues, to whom the book is dedicated, have given me both serious and humorous insight into myself as a worker while I have sought to formulate these ideas.

Wayne E. Oates
Louisville, Kentucky

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