how about a flashback table topic this week:
12. What was your first job?
my first job was in 1990 - the summer between middle & high school. i was 14 and needed to get "working papers" (do they even have those any more?) to be legally employed. minimum wage was $3.85 at the time.
i worked at ben franklin's "five & dime" on main street. it was pretty much a general store, although most things were much higher priced then that. if you were lucky, your mom would let you get your toys there growing up. if you were unlucky, your mom bought your fake keds there growing up. these were affectionately known as "skips" and wearing them would be accompanied by a school-yard teasing sing-song of: skips / make your feel fine / skips / cost a dollar ninety-nine.
my favorite part of the job was the pricing gun & stocking the shelves. my least fave was unfortunately the primary reason i was hired - cashier. ben franklin's is now a dunkin' donuts and every time i grab a coffee there i get a twinge of nostalgia.
interestingly, according to wikipedia, wal-mart founder sam walton got his start as a franchisee of benny frank's. maybe i'm destined for retail greatness? how about i just settle for the billions...
4 comments:
fake keds, love it! i think my mother bought me a fake champion sweatshirt at caldor. my first job i think i was 16ish (although i did get working papers at 14)...was hostessing at the sands beach club for special events, i just remember not being able to fold the tablecloths correctly and being bored out of my mind waiting for ppl to need their water glasses filled...
aww, good topic.
my first job was really a babysitter at age 12. but my first "non cash" gig was as a receptionist at a real estate company.
i always wanted to be a waitress, though....maybe i can still fulfill that dream?
if you are going to waitress, i would recommend an upscale establishment...versus my "Friendly's" experience of doing 3 jobs in one. Speaking of babysitting, I find it crazy that ppl left their children in the care of well 'children' back in the day (I was 13 for my first gig)..
I also started babysitting at 12. I got paid in a combination of cash and as much junk food as I could manage to stuff in my face without leaving a noticeable dent in the family's pantry.
I then moved on to the illustrious world of volunteering and unpaid internships (aka slave labor), before earning my first paycheck at a little company called D'Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles.
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