Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s I was a secretary for several product managers at Dow Chemical Company. I booked their trips and rooms, filed their papers, covered for them with their wives, and brought them coffee.

Later in the 1980’s I worked for the Saginaw Gears Hockey, again as a secretary, this time to the owner, Wren Blair. (I did everything from taking his car to a car wash, picking up his dry cleaning, and renting a condo for him.) He was demanding but I learned a lot.

But by the time I worked at Saginaw Valley as the Supervisor of Secretaries and later when I worked as secretary for the Vice President of St. Mary’s Medical Center, I could see that “secretaries” were being phased out. They were becaming “assistants.” Somehow “secretary” became an antiquated term and those remaining “secretaries” expected a defined “job description.” No longer were they versatile.

Whatever the current title, I need someone to get me organized. Today I was looking for a thumb drive. I know I loaned it out a month or so ago but it was returned. Now I have no idea where it is. And I can’t find some important documents and I’m hoping we can get everything together for taxes.

I know we’re not organized. We need help. We/I need an old-fashioned, help-me-do-everything, SECRETARY or assistant, or whatever your call them. I don’t need someone who won’t make coffee because it’s not in her job description. I need someone who will “take charge” and fix the mess our paper work is in. I need someone who will clean-up my work area when I don’t feel like it and search for papers when I’m too tired.

What I need is a good old fashioned SECRETARY! Do they still exist?