Monday, March 22, 2010

First Jobs

Pamela Tracy here, and gasp did you knowthat writing wasn't my first job? Nope, it wasn't. This morning, thanks to my birth mother, I took a little walk down memory lane courtesy of a blog centered in Omaha, Nebraska, where I'm from. The blog was called Forgotten Cuisene, and yup, it was all about food. A marker from my past was there among the pictures.

Picture me at age fifteen (same hairstyle but much, much, much longer and skinnier, too). I didn't have a car yet but I was saving my babysitting money. My friend Sandy was older; she had a car. One day after school I hopped in her car and she said, "I have to stop by Mr. C's." This was a big family owned Italian restaurant. I'm not sure I'd even been there. "Why?" I asked. She uttered a word I hadn't even thought of yet: job.


She parked, she existed, I followed. The hostess, for some reason, handed me an application, too. I filled it out (and I had to lie about my age). One week later, I had a job and for some reason, Sandy did not.


I worked at Mr. C's from the time I was 15 until I went off to college. I started as a coffee girl. Yup, that was my only duty. I walked around the restaurant and made sure that everyone had a full cup of coffee. I progressed to water girl, meaning when people newly arrived, I'm the one who gave them their water. From there, I went to settings (rolling silverware, arranging plates, coffee cups, and saucers, on a tray) to bus girl, to finally cook.

I met my best friends at that job (waving at Patty, Robin, Julie, and Sammi). I have burns from the pizza oven and still blame at least five of my pounds on Mr. C's pizza.

Up until five years ago, every time I went home (I still think of Omaha as home), my girlfriends and I (sometimes with kids and hubbies along) would meet at Mr. C's and eat.

I often write waitress heroines, btw.

It closed down five years ago. A nail in the coffin of favorite memory.

So, what was your first job?

4 comments:

Project Journal said...

Babysitting! Lol! But I'm currently trying to see if I can apply for a new library opening in June. Very fitting and I'd definitely enjoy it!

That place sounds really cool, Pam! I'm sure we'd have gone there too..... : )
Hannah

Pamela Tracy said...

I was a terrible babysitter. If I watched a baby, and he dirtied his diaper, I called my mom. She'd stand firm "Change it yourself" for about twenty minutes. Then, when she called back and found I'd not changed the diaper, she'd come change it. Needless to say, I was not the neighborhood's first choice as a babysitter.

Debby Giusti said...

I worked at Polly's Peanut Shoppe in Columbus, Ohio, the summer before I started college. We bagged peanuts for the local farm baseball team and sold candy and all types of nuts.

I could write a book about that place.

Hmmm? Maybe I'll do just that!!! :)

Pamela Tracy said...

I think a peanut book would be great. So, did you meet Jimmy Carter?