Sight Seeing at Home

Yesterday I went to Pop's in Arcadia Oklahoma, home of the world's largest Pop bottle.  Great food.....on Route 66.  They have every conceivable kind of soda pop you can think imagine.  I couldn't resist getting a six pack of Rat Bastard Root Beer!  I can think of a few "Rat Bastards" to give it to starting with my ex-hubbie!



Then we went down the road a 1/2 mile to see the Round Barn.  I can't remember when it was built but it was in the 1800's I believe.  It has been restored and now has a gift shop in the bottom and the loft above is rented out for receptions and parties.  Pretty cool!   All this and it was only a short trip up the highway yet I'd never seen either one.  Fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Round Barn in Arcadia OK on Route 66

Arkansas Patti recently got me to thinking about some of the colorful jobs I have had over the years.  When I was a teenager my dad's pawn shop was located next door to a temporary employment agency.  Every time they had some off the wall temp. job that no one in their right mind wanted....guess who was called in to do it?  Yep...that would be me.  My dad volunteered me for all the bazaar jobs.  I guess I actually started working at around age 12.  I was the neighborhood babysitter and by the time I was 15 I was taking care of kids for an entire weekend while the parents were out of town.  Someone must have thought I was a responsible kid or they were desperate for a break. 

At 16 I was given my first job assignment.  I was to count cars on designated street corners.  I didn't have a driver's license at the time so my mother would take me to my assigned corner (around 6:30 a.m.) where I would stand and count how many cars turned left, how many turned right and how many went straight.  I would be out there until 9:00 a.m. and then return to do the count around 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. 

Now, besides being a mind numbing boring job it was also a little dark that early in the morning.  My mother didn't like leaving me alone on the street corner so she would continue to circle the block keeping an eye on me.  Every time she circled the block I counted her.  That explains the exuberant number of street lights installations that year.

My next temp. job was as a receptionist for a medical office.  I was only filling in for a day and all I was to do was answer the phone and schedule appointments.  I might have been called back if I hadn't scheduled appointments for Saturday and Sunday.

The next job I had I was now 17 and I got this job on my own without the aide of the temp. agency.  I went to work on the night shift at a fishing lure manufacturing company.  I worked alone in the office typing up shipping orders for the next day.  There were about 300 employees and the majority of them were women.  There were the "Dotters", the women who painted the white pupil on the eye of the fish.  All night long they painted the white dot as the fish went by on a conveyor belt. 

Then there were the "hookers".  They put the hooks on the lures and bragged about how they could "hook" over a 1,000 a night.  Often there were fights breaking out on the line between the dotters and the hookers.  I was just so young I adopted the "be seen and not heard" philosophy.  There were some tough women at this place. 

One night an angry gun toting ex-husband showed up about 2:00 a.m. looking for his ex-wife, one of the "hookers".  Seems he thought there was more to her job than fishing hooks.  I climbed under my desk and waited.  I was absolutely terrified.  By the time the police showed up and finally got the ex-hubbie to surrender I had already filled out my notice that I would not be returning!

Working as a teenager was the best preparation for life I could have received.  It was also a great inspiration to stay in school lest I be a hooker and hooking 1,000's a night.  No sir........Not for me!