First Jobs--Theodore

 I'm beginning a new series, First Jobs, in which I ask people about their first work experiences.
Today, Theo is going to tell you about his first job. 

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Tell me about your first job.

My first job was at the local grocery store. I worked there about a year until I went away to college.

Theo ready to go to work at the grocery store.

What did you do?

My main job was being a cashier. When things were slow, I would also clean and put things back on shelves that people didn't want. I wish I had been older so that I had had a chance to do some of the more interesting jobs like using a butchering saw or driving a forklift. And there was this really neat looking trash compacter I wanted to try. However since I was underage, I wasn't allowed to touch any of those '"dangerous" things.

Why did you get that job?

The store was across the street from the high school and a lot of other kids I knew worked there. I think it was the store's business model to hire a lot of young, cheap labor. Also, the job was convenient because I could walk to work after school.

Did you like working with other teenagers?

It was okay, however sometimes there were problems with some of my classmates as managers. They didn't have much experience and didn't always manage very well. I particularly didn't like it when they wouldn't give me a break even though the rules said that I should have one. That made it really hard when I had to go to the bathroom.

Back to putting away things customers didn't want. I've always wondered, what did you do with items that were refrigerated or frozen?

The official rule was you could only put it back if you saw the customer put the item down. Otherwise, you had to throw it away. The practical rule was if it still felt cold you could put it back.

Okay. I'm not sure if I feel better or not about that.

What did you like about the job?

I liked the act of scanning things and the puzzle of how to best pack things into the bag. It was a little bit like Tetris.

What did you dislike about the job?

I disliked it when customers yelled at me.

What did they yell at you about?

Usually it was when they didn't have enough money to pay for what they had picked out. They would be embarrassed and tell me things like, "Don't look at me," and "The prices should have been better marked."

How did you handle that?

I let them vent a little then said, “I'm sorry, but what are you actually going to be buying today?” I had to keep the line moving.

What did you use your money for?

I bought a laptop that I later took to college with me.

What did you learn from the job?

I learned that your attitude determines how your day's going to be. I also learned that everyone has their own circumstances and you can't judge people by a two minute interaction. Actually, I already knew that, but I got a lot of chances to practice that on this job.

Thanks for your story, Theo. Soon, I hope to interview you about your first “real” job out of school. :)

Thankful Sunday--June 29, 2014

I am thankful for popcorn.

Salty, crunchy popcorn is the perfect snack. The only thing better is when you eat it with M&M's. I am thankful that I have popcorn and will be even more thankful when I get some M&M's to go with it. (Spoiler Alert: Shopping trip planned for later today.)

A Second Look--June 25, 2014

Here are a few things I saw this week

 during a Second Look.

Showtime Annoyances

Ward and I recently went to a couple of shows. We bought our tickets months ago and had been looking forward to them. The first was a concert by John Prine. In case you're not familiar with him, he's a songwriter/singer who is great at telling a story and evoking emotions with simple words and a clever turn of a phrase. He's also a masterful guitar player. The concert had no special lights, no hanging from the ceiling, no dancers--just a man and his guitar occasionally joined by a bass, mandolin, or another guitar. To me it was magical and I loved it.

Unfortunately, so did the man sitting beside us. He was having the time of his life. He was dancing in his seat, singing along, and clapping vigorously. None of this was a problem even though we were in a small theater. The problem was his whistle. It was very loud. In fact, it was ear piercing. My ears literally hurt every time he did it--which was frequently because he obviously loved John Prine. I know that I was not the only one who was bothered. He got plenty of looks, and people were holding their ears all around him. Yet, he went along his merry way whistling with all of his might. I guess he was in the zone. He turned an otherwise wonderful concert into a painful one at times.

A week later, we saw a production of Ave Q. Ave Q is a Tony-award-winning musical loosely based on a Sesame Street format with puppets and actors. However, it is not for kids as it has adult themes. We also enjoyed this show very much. Except, for the problem with the woman sitting in front of us. She was not loud like the whistler. She was loud in another sort of way. It was her perfume. The smell of it was so strong that I had a headache by intermission. Another perfect show ruined by someone in the audience. Okay, maybe ruined is too strong of a word, but the overpowering perfume smell certainly distracted from the enjoyment of the show.

Now here's the question. Would you have done anything to change these less than optimum situations? Or would you have just come home and fussed about them like I did? 

Thankful Sunday--June 22, 2014

I am thankful for our hummingbird feeder.

A few weeks ago, I put up a hummingbird feeder and the hummingbirds have been slowly finding it. Finally, this weekend we are getting regular traffic making the cats as well as us very happy.

(In case anyone is wondering, the cats are watching from inside without any chance of reaching the hummingbirds.)

A Book Recomendation and a Celebrity Encounter--sort of

Jim Henson

Wally's Ernie doll. Ernie was a Muppet from Sesame Street.

This week I went to another one of those free fabulous events you can attend at your library. I heard Brian Jay Jones talk about his latest book, Jim Henson: the Biography. Believe it or not, this is the first book that has been written for adults about the creator of the Muppets. The talk was quite interesting and involved a lot of video clips. It was an evening filled with smiles, laughs, and insights into a brilliant man. I would highly recommend this book to anyone--that is if I had read it. But I haven't, so I will just recommend it based on the talk and the recommendation from a friend who has read it. She says it is quite good and I trust her judgement. Check your local library for a copy.

Okay, that's the set up for the real reason for this post--another celebrity encounter that involves Jim Henson--sort of. This story takes a while before I get to him, so stay with me.

I was visiting Miss Landers and we were helping her elderly neighbor with some clean up.  Her neighbor's second husband* had just died and she had decided to move. Her step daughters were there helping also. (Her first marriage was to their father.) We were in the basement sorting through old records when one of the daughters said, "Look that's Dad's old trunk." The trunk was nondescript and had definitely seen better days. She said that her dad was a puppeteer and used to carry his puppets in that trunk. Well, that was interesting enough for me because I had never known a professional puppeteer. But here's when my eyes got really big. She said that her father used to teach Jim Henson. Jim Henson attended the University of Maryland where her father was a professor and taught a puppet class. And here's the kicker--he told Jim that puppets were fun, but there was no money in them. Famous last words. :)

As I tell these sort of celebrity encounters, I have come to the conclusion that the most important part of a celebrity encounter is how big your eyes get when it happens. Not how much it impresses the other people you tell about it. I have a feeling that my eyes may have gotten bigger than yours during this story. But that's okay. Thanks for listening.

*As it turns out, her second husband was a well known Vaudeville performer. If I only knew a little more about Vaudeville, I might have also been impressed when we found some of his music. I wanted to be, but I wasn't.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions-June 20, 2014

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions. Occasionally, if our eating is going okay, I'll talk about some other food topic.

This Week's Food Waste

Lettuce

Once again, I didn't quite make it to the bottom of the bag before some turned slimy. However, things should go better this week because I have fresh lettuce from the garden. That always seems to do better than bag lettuce from the store.

This Week's True Food Confesssions

 

I woke up this morning thinking about creamed peas and new potatoes. And then I also realized that it was West Virginia Day meaning that on this day 151 years ago, West Virginia became a state. So it seemed like the perfect time to talk about West Virginia food. I realize that with a population of almost 2 million, not everyone eats the same thing in West Virginia, but I think my growing up experiences are fairly common.

Much of the state is rural and most people have a garden of some kind. That means it just wouldn't be summer without tomatoes fresh from the vine. But before the tomatoes ripen, one of the earlier treats are creamed peas and new potatoes. When the first green peas get ripe, new potatoes are dug. The peas and potatoes are cooked with a white cream sauce and you have your first special supper from the garden that season.

Around the same time (or a little sooner), the leaf lettuce is ready for picking. That means it's time for a dish of wilted lettuce. For this, bacon is fried, a little vinegar and and sugar are added to the bacon grease, and that dressing is poured over lettuce and green onions. Yum.

Speaking of green onions, what a treat. Even those who don't like onions will eat a few green onions in the spring. With their tender white bulbs and tasty green stalk, they are the perfect accompaniment to most any dish. Some people like to eat them with butter on a sandwich, but most just like them plain or with a little salt.

image credit

And now back to my favorite--tomatoes. If everything goes just right, the first tomatoes are ripe in early July. Then it's time for big juicy slices of tomato to accompany every meal. My favorite way to eat them is with cottage cheese or on tomato sandwiches. 

Also along about this time, the green beans are ready for picking. These can be steamed, pickled, or simmered for a long time with ham. This method may not be the most nutritious, but, boy, are the beans good when cooked this way.

Soon after the beans, corn will be ripe. Okay, maybe this is my favorite—just picked (within the hour) corn-on-the-cob with butter and salt. Now I'm drooling and I haven't even told you about the cucumbers or fried squash.

As you can see, my favorite food changes every week or two during the summer as something new ripens. There's a lot more to talk about in regards to WV food, but I think you get the idea—a lot of it is based on something that is grown in the backyard, side yard, meadow, field, or hillside.

Another time, I'll talk more about this subject, but for now, I have to go get something to eat.

A Second Look--June 18, 2014

This week the weather has been hot. And humid. And annoying with bugs buzzing in my face and mosquitoes biting my legs. Did I mention I love the outdoors? Did I mention I don't love the outdoors in hot humid weather? I guess you might call me a fair-weather outdoor lover.

One of the defending bluebirds

Nevertheless, I still love watching what is going on outdoors. This week I've been watching a drama unfold over one of the nesting boxes between a bluebird couple and a sparrow couple. This is the box that has already housed a successful brood of  bluebird chicks, and soon after they fledged, a bluebird couple started to hang around the box again. (I don't know if it was the same one or not.) Anyway, they had been going in and out, tidying up the nest, and acting just like they did before the last set of eggs was laid. But this week, the plot thickened. A pair of sparrows has been trying to set up housekeeping in this box also. The bluebirds are ferociously defending their territory, but cannot declare victory yet. I have seen both bluebirds and sparrows going in and out of the box today but no one has laid any eggs.

There is another bird drama going on the other side of the yard in another nest box. This was the box where a successful brood of chickadees was raised earlier. However, that was also where another bird started to build a nest on top of the babies before they were gone. I removed the extra nest, and after the babies fledged, the new nest was built again. That one ended up with two chickadee eggs in it before the activity stopped for a week or so. Then this weekend, the nest was empty and I found one of the eggs intact on the ground. Now, I'm waiting for the next development.

And in the third box, the wren has started to build again. I removed the last nest before any eggs were laid because bees took up residence there . We'll see if this goes any more smoothly than what's going on in the other boxes.

Believe it or not, I did see a few other things this week besides birds. Here a few of them I found when I took a Second Look.

Rozanne Geranium, Hosta, Pieris japonica

Moonbeam coreopsis

Day lily

Mushrooms

Spirea

Ousted Chickadee egg

Left--female sparrow. Right--female bluebird. These pictures were taken with in a few seconds of each other during one of the fights over the nesting box.

Wren nest that is being rebuilt.

Gray Squirrel. The squirrels aren't paying attention to the bird wars. They're just happy to eat their food.

Thankful Sunday--June 15, 2014

I am thankful for my father.

My father passed away a year ago, and I still think about him every day. I am thankful for the life he gave me and how he showed me the value of working hard and following your passions.

Below are a few memories I have shared about him in the past.

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Happy Father's Day

Vanilla ice cream was the family favorite.

When I was little, my father was larger than life. He did the obvious of working hard and providing for our needs, but it was the other things I noticed. Youth is like that. Nothing could equal the thrill I got from riding on his shoulders, or the feeling of flying when he pushed me in the tree swing. I loved carrying his lunch pail and was proud when I could stretch my legs to match his stride. When I got too big to ride on his shoulders, he made things fun in other ways. He fixed the lights at the local swimming pool so we could swim all summer for free. And he made sure we always had ice cream.

Then there was the summer I turned thirteen when I was at camp on a week long canoe trip. One night we ended up camping unscheduled in a farmer's field because of a sudden thunderstorm. We got permission from his sons to camp in their field, but not from their father because he wasn't home. As we were pitching our tents, the dad showed up and was quite upset about our trespassing. After a bit of explanation and negotiation, he said we could stay the night. However, it was obvious that he wasn't happy about it.

After things had calmed down a bit, I mentioned that my family used to live in the area. He asked a couple of questions and soon realized who my father was. His face lit up because my father used to be his fishing buddy. He said that Red (my father's nickname) was a fine man. The farmer said no more, but soon his sons showed up. They carried our water, gathered our firewood, and did anything else they could think of to help. So even though he wasn't there, my father was still making things right. He turned what could have been a tense, difficult night into a good one.

On this Father's Day, I want to thank my father for watching out for me in many different ways, and for making sure that we always had ice cream.

Grammar mistakes

Recently, I have been finding what I think are way too many writing mistakes in my posts after they're published and I'm embarrassed by them. Then I remembered a post I did about this a while back and thought I would rerun it. Apparently, I'm still working on the "Get Over It Already" concept. 

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Mistakes

or Get Over It Already

My writing helpers otherwise known as my excuses.

Do you ever read something someone has written such as a letter, email, or an article and find mistakes? Then you wonder how someone could make mistakes so obvious and think, "Shouldn't they know better or at least proofread their work better?" Well, I do that all of the time when I read my own blog posts. Unfortunately, I usually find the problems long after I hit publish and it drives me crazy.

However, I'm trying to get over that. I'm trying not to worry about mistakes I may make because that takes away from the pleasure of communicating with all of you. I am trying to accept that I am doing the best I can under the circumstances. Sometimes those circumstances involve constantly removing one cat from in front of the monitor while another is trying to get on my lap. Sometimes I am writing when I'm really tired so I can publish a post the next morning before I go to work. Sometimes Blogger spacing is not working, so I am concentrating on that instead of concentrating on what I am writing. And sometimes I'm confused because it seems all the grammar rules that I thought I once knew have changed.

But wait, there I go again. I'm making excuses for my blog imperfections instead of accepting that good enough is good enough. While I will try to write well when writing for my blog, life is too short to worry about occasional misplaced modifiers and misspelled words. And that is what I'm going to keep telling myself until I really believe it.

Note: Sometimes I have an idea for a post and the words and the pictures just come together effortlessly and flawlessly. Wow, I love that feeling.

Celebrity Encounters--sort of, Part Two

Celebrity Encounters--Sort of, Part One

Mount Auburn

It was a pleasantly warm day in Boston. After having a very filling lunch with Ward's sister and family, we were deciding how we wanted to spend the afternoon. The lunch had lulled us into a lazy-afternoon-feeling, so we decided to stroll among some gardens of the area which were in full spring bloom. One of them was the Mount Auburn Cemetery. Now I'm not one to visit cemeteries regularly, but this one had more to see than usual. It was founded in 1831 and was America's first landscaped cemetery as well as the first large scale green space open to the public. Today it is an arboretum/botanical garden, a bird sanctuary, as well as a place steeped in history.

We arrived too late for a formal tour so we wandered around in the visitors center where I picked up a map. It was then that I got a gleam in my eye and a little spring in my step. I asked the others what part they wanted to see and there were no firm answers. Ward's sister pointed to a certain road on the map and said that this area was one of her favorites—perfect. Just where I wanted to go.

You see, the map included the locations of 62 notable sites of the over 1000 notable people who were buried there. I had already picked out the first two graves I wanted to visit—James Russel Lowell and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and they were in the same area that Sis pointed to. Now how was I going to say that I wanted to celebrity grave hop without sounding too shallow? I managed to mumble something about using a quote from James Russel Lowell in my high school graduation speech and how I admired him. So we set off in that direction.

While the others were enjoying the blooming dogwoods and azaleas, I hopped out of the car to search the headstones. After a bit of looking, I found the Lowell family. I went round and round and found every name except James Russell. I had to console myself with his wife's spot. She apparently was a well known poet also. Next to find Henry. After going back and forth several times, it was determined that I needed to climb a hill to find his spot. So off I went for a climb while the others enjoyed the scenery from the comfort of the car. Henry was a bit easier to find. He too was surrounded by his family.

The afternoon was waning and we had to leave soon. I had the urge to do one more blitz for a famous monument sighting, but knew that we had something much more important to do. We were going to visit my brother-in-law's parents' grave. I have to admit that while I didn't get the same thrill as I did with my famous sightings, this was a much more meaningful stop. We talked about his parents and learned family jokes. We asked questions and he told stories. We left Mt. Auburn with a smile while enjoying the beautiful scenery and memories of two important family members.

(And, okay, I had some pictures of some famous people's graves. :) )

A Second Look--June 11, 2014

Official summer is just around the corner and the flowers in the yard are starting to look summery--meaning many of the spring flowers are fading while many of the summer flowers are blooming. The bees and other insects seem happy with these developments as I am seeing more bees and other insects than ever before.

And speaking of seeing things, I saw a box turtle today hiding in the grass. When I saw it, I realized that I don't think I've seen a box turtle for the 15+ years we've lived here. I always saw them in the woods when I was a kid, but not so much any more. I don't know where the turtle came from and where it was going, but it was in no hurry to get there. :)

Here are some things I saw this week

 during a Second Look.

Stella Dora Day Lily--This variety is supposed to keep blooming all summer long. We'll see if that happens this year in its new location with more sun. For the last 3 years, we've only gotten one set of blooms from them.

Pansies--A few of the pansies are still blooming nicely but most are done. Soon, I'm going to trade them out for summer annuals. Soon--meaning any day now for the last month.

Astilbe--The name of that bug escapes me right now.

Iris--These have spread in a bed that had been overgrown with weeds. We got that bed cleaned out this spring and found them. Before that, the bed had mostly bearded iris. Not sure what kind these are.

We've been having a fair amount of rain--mostly in the form of thunderstorms. As a consequence, mushrooms are starting to pop up.

Hottuynia--This plant is known to grow invasively (aka-groundcover), so I planted it in a small space surrounded by concrete on all sides. However, this year it's finding a way to escape. Gonna have to keep it pulled.

Geranium--Rozanne

Blue Jay

Box turtle

Celebrity encounters--sort of

I have to admit it. I'm impressed by famous people. Well, maybe not impressed—let's say fascinated. I'd like to say that everyone has value and no one's value is more important than anyone else. And I believe that, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't at least a little bit excited when I'm around someone famous. And I think I'm normal in that way. Psychologists say that some form of this fascination has been going on since the beginning of time. Early on it may have been advantageous to know about those in charge and emulate them. And things evolved from there.

So do I have any interesting stories to tell about meeting someone famous? Well, sort of. There was the time I was at a conference and had a conversation with the governor of WV, John D. Rockefeller IV. At that time I was more impressed with how tall he was (6' 7”) than who he was. (I was a teen. I had an excuse for being shallow.) And then there's country singer and song writer, Tom T. Hall, who used to work at the radio station where I grew up. I don't remember him from then, but learned some interesting things about him several years later when he returned to town, now famous, for a concert. I rode home from the concert with the man who used to be his dentist (my friend's father) and learned all about his dental work over the years. How's that for intimate details of the rich and famous?

But my biggest celebrity encounter was with Bubba Knight, from Gladys Knight and the Pips. I was on business travel and checking into a hotel and beside me was a man also checking in. After they confirmed my reservation, the clerk said, “Ms. Cleaver, this is Bubba.” I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but said, “Hi.” She repeated, “Ms. Cleaver, this is Bubba. Bubba Knight. Bubba Knight of Gladys night and the Pips.” Finally it registered.  I was standing next to someone famous. “Hello, Bubba. Can I have your autograph?” He gladly signed my paper and it was then I noticed that he was wearing a purple suit. That should have clued me in on something earlier. (Gladys is famous for wearing purple.) 

Bubba's flowery handwriting seemed to match his purple suit.

But this "fascinating" encounter doesn't stop there. After I got his autograph, I proceeded to my room, but it turns out that it was already occupied by a couple of men. I guess in all of the excitement that things got messed up at the desk. The men volunteered to switch rooms, but I said that I would get another one. Trying to compensate for my inconvenience, they asked if I would like to have dinner with them. Well, they seemed nice enough, but I thought it wouldn't be too wise to go out with two strange men I just met. But with that decision, I blew my chance for an even bigger celebrity encounter. It turns out that they were old high school buddies of Gladys and her brother, Bubba, and were in town for a reunion. So, I almost had dinner with Gladys Knight. However, the best I got to see was  her drinking a cup of coffee at breakfast the next day.

So, Bubba was my biggest celebrity encounter for many years. In fact, he held top spot until recently when I “met” someone who was not only famous, but had truly stood the test of time proving that he deserved his fame.. And I met him in a place I least expected. Soon I'll tell you all about it.

First Jobs--June

 I'm beginning a new series, First Jobs, in which I ask people about their first work experiences.
Today, I am going to tell you about the first work I did when I was a teen.

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Like many teen girls, my first work for pay was babysitting. My older sisters paved the way for me by being responsible, good babysitters. Thus I didn't have to look for work. Jobs came looking for me.

When I first started, I sat with older kids—meaning no infants. As I became more experienced, I also cared for younger kids who needed their diapers changed and bottles warmed. I remember during one of these early jobs of watching a baby when there was an unfortunate incident with an overflowing toilet. I won't go into the details, but let's just say there were several things that needed dried out after I left. The parents blamed themselves for not telling me everything I needed to know, but not surprisingly, they never called me back.

The most regular customer I had was a little girl named Sue. She was an only child and loved to preform. She often grabbed a hairbrush to use as a mike and belted out a song. One of her costumes was a set of pigtails her mother fashioned for her out a towel and two rubber bands. She thought she looked glamorous in this long, straight “hair” which was nothing like her short, curly hair. She also loved books, however her mother, a kindergarten teacher, didn't believe in teaching kids to read until they were school age. So Sue didn't learn to read until she started school even though she really wanted to. One day when Sue was four, she asked me to read her a particular book, but she couldn't find it. She said, “Oh, well. I'll read it to you.” Then she accurately recited the entire book. This was not a picture book. This was a chapter book and she knew every word. When she finally learned to read, she was soon reading at a fifth grade level and not long after that jumped to an eighth grade level. Sue had the biggest vocabulary of any child I knew (and bigger than many adults.)

ROFL Cat

There was one bad babysitting night that I remember vividly. I was watching a little boy named Oliver. His family had several pets and actually ran a tropical fish store in their basement. On that dark night Oliver burst into the room crying, “Max killed my hamster!” Max was the cat and he had indeed somehow unlocked the hamster cage and “played” with the hamsters in there. One was dead and I nursed the other one along until the parents came home. That was not a night I wanted to relive.

Even though babysitting was a more informal job than some, my mother said that I should treat it like a real business. She had me send out letters stating my rates and policies. One I remember was that my rates went up after midnight. At first, I didn't want to do this, but I did, and it taught me that being professional and having things in writing are very important. Knowing this has served me well since then.

I had many other adventures in babysitting, but that's enough for now. Another time, I will tell you about the important job that I didn't get paid for.