Let me share some of the reasons that l didn't stay long at any of my jobs.
It started years before l had any regular job. My parents were both movie fans and they often took me with them. By the time l was in first grade, movies were my favorite form of entertainment. But, more than that, l had already decided that working in the movies was the job l wanted. l had no idea how that job could be gotten but l had seen kids in movies as well as grown-ups so l was pretty sure that it was at least possible. But considering how big a movie fan my mother was, she had very little respect or admiration
for people who worked in the movies: They were "professional show-offs" in
her opinion. She thought l could find more honorable employment. l didn't
openly disagree with her but l did figure that all actors aren't the same as the others, and l certainly wouldn't be a show-off if l were an actor. (Unless, of course my character was a show-off.)
ln third grade, our teacher,Miss Lowry produced a stage play written by a friend and former fellow student at Colorado A&M. The play was written for a cast of elementary school actors. l played an insurance salesman who worked for the Honesty lnsurance Company, who told everybody he met that "Honesty is the best policy". When l told mom that l got a part in a school play, she asked a few questions and actually congratulated me for getting a part. She also encouraged me to do my best, both in performance and prep-
aration. Of course, this was amateur showing off and had nothing to do with real working, so it was harmless and could be a lot of fun. And it really was.
By the time l left high school l had enough experience working in my stepdad's businesses that l was pretty sure l didn't want a career doing any of the jobs l had done for him. l still liked the idea of a career in the movies and having had many different jobs on the way to acting should broaden my perspective, adding to my ability to play a broad range of characters.
Considering the piddlingly few times l ever earned anything for being on a movie set( three times, which totaled less than one minute of actual on-screen presence). ln fact, if l remember correctly the movie companies only
pay talent when they are owed at least fifty dollars. My three appearances
totaling less than one minute and involving two movie companies would pay
nothing. Ever
The one thing l gave absolutely no thought to was the other "actors" at the audition(s). To get the three jobs as an extra, l must have attended a dozen
"show-ups" (not actual auditions; no speaking parts, just folks passing or standing or just being there). l never really figured out what it was about the other applicants for the jobs that l did not like, but l felt uncomfortable around them. No, it was more like l was embarrassed to be in the same group with them.
When l fully realized what was involved in my discomfort at those meetings l gave up on an acting career.
But l had already formed the habit of changing my job at the drop of a hat.
Since l got my first set of drafting tools l'v enjoyed designing and building
home furnishings for my own use mostly, though a few times l have made unsuccessful attempts to enter the market with a design that l thought
worthy. Some examples include cabinets made of premium woods, a gang of
cubist representations of reclining, swivelling, upholstered chairs, a few copies
of an indoor-outdoor chair, its structure made of 2" ABS pipe and fittings, it's
seat and back of white canvass. a group of chairs whose support structure was
made of 5/8" plywood, also upholstered with white canvass. a step-stool for the kitchen. whatever it was, affordable materials were employed. When l was between positions, l would work on projects like these. ln earlier years l would often paint pictures but they didn't sell as well in the West as they had when l was painting in the D.C
The main bottom line was becoming bored with the job. When that happened, it
could trigger a search for a project.(rather than just trade one boring job for another). That could lead to a trip, to investigate an opportunity. That was why
l accompanied Adolph to L.A. My friend Chuck wanted us to spend NewYear's eve
on Colorado Blvd., just to witness a giant party; ln the morning, we would watch the parade (one of the top three in the country). After the parade we would go to a giant parking lot near the parade route where all of the floats are on display and
touching is allowed. Get plenty of pictures, too.
Chuck had an opportunity to operate a pizza joint on Colorado Blvd. for three weeks in January before it would be taken over by new management and he thought he might operate the place for a couple of weeks. He later decided to operate the place just for New Year's Eve, carrying the pizza to the parade route to be sold by the slice. Eventually, he decided to skip the pizza and enjoy
the pre-parade party
Realize that l was not involved (nor interested) in the pizza-by-the-slice deal.
Even if Chuck had wanted to peddle pizza by the slice, l was more interested
in relating to the people waiting for the parade to begin.
Adolph, finding himself only 150 miles from Mexico had decided he wanted to go there. He seemed fascinated by the idea of passing all the way thru America's
north/south dimension (except Alaska). We took off for Mexico about two hours after the parade. Chuck had other stuff to do ,so he didn't go with us. We had been in Tijuana only a few minutes when we were approached by an idle cab driver. He offered to take us to "the best brothel in Mexico".He used another
for the place but we understood what he was saying. Recommending brothels is what cab-drivers do in Tijuana. As we approached the place he said we should start by watching two beautiful ladies make love to each other. lnteresting, but not at all exciting. Next, another pretty lady, wearing a revealing night gown
which she moved in and out of. We both were unmoved. We stayed for one more performance and decided to give anymore Mexican brothels a pass.
l dont mean to be negative but l couldn't help thinking about the brothels in Elko
Nv that,before this Mexico trip were the only brothels in my experience. Except for the beautiful ladies, the brothel we visited was awful; dirt floors, Bare light bulbs hung from the ceiling by a single cord, Shabby furniture, a pervasive and unpleasant odor was everywhere. In no way, except the beautiful ladies,did the place come near the Elko brothels. Before we met the ladies l must admit that l expected the ladies to be somehow less than the ladies in the Elko brothels.
The ladies we met there even spoke perfect English to us, though they spoke spanish (Mexican ?) to each other. We both had some nice conversations with the ladies but passed on anything that might have sent us back to our wives testing positive for some STD. By the time we crossed the border going north we had both decided to skip stopping by Chuck's place. Adolph was ready to get back to his job at Patio Village and l needed to get back to looking for a job.
After three days of responding to help wanted ads in the San Jose Mercury News l found myself applying for a sales associate position at Hadley's Creek Ford. l had never sold cars before and by the time l was accepted l was excited about my prospects. The place was very busy. As prospectivebuyers arrived, they were met by sales associates whose job is to let prospects know that this is the luckiest day of his life (if getting an unbelievable deal on a new Ford
today is what you want.
she
but
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