Some Of My Work Expierience

I was thinking the other day about some of my work experiences and how they've all impacted who and what I am. Like many, my earliest work experiences were around my own family's home as a young boy, mowing lawn and doing other kinds of outdoor work. Always loved it and still do. There's something about fresh cut lawns that impacts all of the senses - sight, smell, hearing and even taste as blades of grass sometimes fly in your face.

When I was in the eighth grade I worked as a kennel boy for a next door neighbor who raised Bedlington Terriers for sale and show. She had 15 to 20 dogs at any one time and they needed to be fed, groomed and cleaned up after. I accompanied her to dog shows and learned the trade as it were, assisted at the delivery of litters, etc. In High School this led me to working with a local Veterinarian. Considered becoming a Vet but that changed.

I worked at a department store as a stock clerk for a short time and did other manual labor along the way.

My time at the Catholic Worker in NYC provided me with a lot of variety of work. It included going to the food market to pick up donated cases of vegetables, cleaning and prepping the same, cooking for the daily soup line, sorting and distributing clothing to men and women on the Bowery and more.

There was also other work that I did at that time just to keep some money flowing. Sometimes the work was quite entrepreneurial, at least in my mind. My buddy Paul and I were trying to figure out how we could make some money to keep us going between our music, political activity and work at the Catholic Worker. As we were walking down to Chinatown one evening for a late night dinner, we noticed a fellow painting the steps at entrances to apartments next to each store. He used bright and different colors that made the neighborhood pop. He was talking to owners and convincing them to get their steps done. We thought that was cool but it was pretty specific to that place and culture.

The next day we were walking along 1st Ave. just looking around while we walked and talked. One of us noticed all of the metal gates  and grates that were folded during the day but opened, were locked and used to protect windows and entrances at night. Some were new with fresh coats of paint but most were old and rusted. A plan was hatched. We would go into the business of painting or repainting these gates. All it would take was some paint, brushes and hand mitts (the mitts were to get behind the diamond shaped openings in the gates). Oh and customers.

How would we get customers? That required some thought over a few beers and bingo we had it. We decided to invest in the supplies and paint one property for free. We'd use that great looking newly painted gate as our sales pitch and as an advertisement along the rest of the street. I seem to remember throwing in some small details about the fire inspector citing people for poorly maintained gates as well. It worked and we were successful for awhile. Our last job was for a fellow in the Village who insisted on a gold metallic paint. It was a big job. We did some of it during the day but couldn't close the gate all of the way. The owner liked the job but wanted it complete by morning. He wrote us a check and closed and locked the gate. Paul and I finished up and just as we were done it started to pour rain. We ran across the street under an overhang and watched as all of the metallic gold paint washed away onto the sidewalk and down the drain. We ran to find an open bank and that was the end of our business venture.

Then there was the railroad. The railroad company would recruit men from the Bowery to clean their tracks in the winter during snow storms. Work crews were taken in trains up the Hudson, halfway to Albany, to shovel snow and break up ice to clear switches along the tracks. Not very steady work but certainly an expierience. Trying to stay warm around a fire in a 55 gallon steel drum by the side of the train.

One of the best jobs I had in the City was as a deli runner down on Wall St. There were about seven or eight of us working for tips only at a great delicatessen downtown in the Financial District. Calls for sandwiches would come in, get bagged up and we'd be sent on our way, usually two shopping bags full of lunches. Sometimes a full bag to one office (those were the best because you'd be in and out quickly). Other times there could be ten stops for one bag. Lots of politics on who got what bag. Most deliveries were to office buildings. You'd go to the 35th floor, past reception to a conference room with 10 or 15 suited men, distribute sandwiches, collect the money and tips and move on. Everything was cash in those days so you were an easy mark for a robbery. Never happened to me but others experienced it. The job went from about 10am to 2pm.

Speaking of food, worked at a diner in the kitchen and also as an order taker, cook and server at an A&W Root Beer stand. Made mean Mama, Papa, and Jr. Burgers. Pots and pans at the diner and worked my way up to short order cook.

I also worked on farms, driving and learning to maintain tractors and other farm equipment. Actually tore down a tractor engine with another fellow and rebuilt it. That's surprising since today I sometimes have a hard time getting a lawnmower to start. There was also baling and loading hay, plowing, tilling and a little cattle herding thrown in.

For a very short time I worked in a food plant near Tivoli, NY where TV dinners were packaged. I was the guy at the beginning of the assembly line responsible for stacking the aluminum trays and dumping cases of frozen peas or corn into a chute above my head. Ladies sat on stools placing pats of butter on mashed potatoes coming from another chute that some poor soul was filling. Chicken pieces were placed as the main dish. All day long, usually mandated overtime with few breaks. Learned to cock the trays just right to jam the assembly machine. The women and the mashed potato guy and I got needed breaks that way. The job was short lived after breakdowns increased dramatically and the singing of union songs. I also picked fruit in season in the same neck of the woods. Cherries, peaches and apples. Got paid by quantity picked. Was very poor.

When I moved upstate my first job was working for a garden center and landscape firm. Commercial lawn cutting, cleanup, planting trees, etc. No work when it rained. Winter was snow removal with Front End Loaders, Grader and Dump Trucks with plows. We did commercial parking lots and a few school parking lots. One April the boss went out of town for the week and left me in charge. My wife, kids and I took a chance to go down to NYC to see some friends. I was just a phone call away. We heard Sunday morning that a late snow storm was heading into New York. Jumped in the car and started home. Hit snow in Liberty. It started getting deeper and deeper, coming down harder. Finally made it back to the Elmira area with about 6 inches of snow on the ground and still coming down. Got things plowed and caught up, but the boss heard about it from one of the customers. Got off with a scolding. Rough work. No heat in any of the equipment.

Went to work for a rehabilitation agency working with people with disabilities, ran a thrift store selling furniture and household items mainly to college students. Ran the print shop and mailroom and eventually became production manager. That was my entry into the field of vocational rehabilitation which took me in a whole new direction, with a few more stops along the way before I became the executive director of a non profit. I'm sure I've missed some things along the way. If I find more in some far off corner of my memory, I'll come back and add it. I guess those experiences all add up to something just not sure what yet. To be continued I'm sure.