I'd seen X's name on various test documents we had. A satire on Bridges of Madison County entitled Bath-Houses of Madison County (gay man introduces woman to fashion--X was gay himself) Another document read, in 30 point font, "X is annoying! X does not shut up! X is the Rush Limbaugh of Software Testing!" There was a good reason for the font. I forget what.

X left years before I started working here, and I think many of his test documents got purged a few years after in a general "let's keep it neutral" kick that , but today I saw someone walk in and ask everyone what their titles were. It wasn't until I saw the nametag that I knew: this was the guy. He didn't seem particularly volatile, but then again, it HAD been 10+ years since he worked here.

He held even more mystery for me than the people who worked remotely. I'd heard about a lot of people that worked before I came in--though I'm not sure, strictly, if I ever met the person I replaced. Most of them, I'd seen. Not that I cared what they looked like, but it was nice to put a face to the name.

After he left, I noticed that the pictures on the front page of the newspaper all had handlebar mustaches. The women too. He probably didn't have time to do much more. When I mentioned X as a suspect to a coworker, the coworker looked blank and said "Uh--yeah. He was a real character." Point taken.

I had nothing to say to him, so I googled some of the odder words from his stories, just in case. Nothing. Well, I remember the actual details were sort of obnoxious and boring anyway. But I'm glad I remembered about Bathhouses today.