Friday night in days gone by brought a sense of relief, a tired joy. Weeks were full of a roller coaster of emotions. Monday a.m. - some faked eager faces - others not. They came into their cubicles like a string of ants carrying mud bundles called briefcases. Those who faked it left droopily. Those who did not grumped through noon then looked gradually forward to quitting time until at last their faces, too were eager - eager to get out of that harried place. Tuesday - well Monday's gone and the week has started. Ants that crept out slowly, sadly, last night come in lines through the door again sadly carrying different sizes of balls of mud. Some smaller, some larger, but most have one still.

Wednesday - Hump Day - all faces alive! A little exhileration is the order of the day. The glass is half empty now and that's okay. Because when it's empty all the way, it will be Friday. Much work gets done on hump day. The mud balls shrink a little. There's usually a lunch date out with the various little clicks. A huddle of swingers here, a gaggle of old hens there. A bunch of bannies with work-out shoes here. The old roosters, going to the Club to decide important things there. Wednesday's a halfway happy day.

But Thursday - don't think it's a nothing day, because all the procrastinated deadlines must be crunched in that on Thursday - the big honcho ants must not see any balls of mud come back in tomorrow. The ants rush around and around their ant-hill desks overwhelmed and sore vexted with themselves. The leader ants must not put them to the test. But the leader ants are not really caring until 5:00 p.m. or so. They're planning golf games tomorrow on their fancy telephones. Ants around the tees - ants down on their knees hunting balls (not of mud) - that Friday ritual of leader ants that the followers are so anxious to be that they fall in line overtime on Thursday night to please.

Friday morning haggard faces drag little legs through the doors. Ants like coffee (with sugar) so through the kitchen they go once more. After filling themselves with Starbucks and sugar, their happiness increases along with their vigor. The Head Honcho ants are gone - they are gone, Yippee. Friday is here with delight and the mad, mad ritual lives on.