Saturday, November 04, 2006

a peek back in time...

OK folks, let me take care of some business here first. All you good folks most likley know that our sweet Ordinary Janet has changed over to Wordpress bloggin and is going to stop using Blogger. Since I ain't got it changed yet on my sidebar, just stop by and see Janet at Janet's Ordinary Life who by now has become part of our blogging family. I will indeed try to get the sidebar address changed today! I have been busier than a one armed gnat this morning.

There is the smell of garlic in the air as I got my homemade spaghetti sauce mixed up and it on the stove a simmering. I dunno why but I like to let it simmer a couple hours. Steph always wondered why and of course I have no reason at all.

I was reading over at that funny Sassy Sistahs place this morning and it got me to thinking about my working days. I still marvel that I worked dealing with the public almost at all my jobs and more so that I was allowed to do it. I have had some doozies in my life I am here to tell ya. But the best one I had and also the most stressful was with an insurance company that my friend P worked for too. The head honchos was in Cincinnati, Ohio and there were hundreds of district and detached offices over the US. Every detached office worked directly from a district office. Also all detached offices were one girl offices. All the same duties as the cashiers in the other offices, cept they had some help, we had to do or die.
As times changed about latter '85 I was told we were going on computer and I frowned upon it highly, but none the less, it was gonna happen. They sent people outta the home office in Ohio to literally install the computers and teach all us cashiers how to operate them.( I must tell ya folks later about my 5 week tenure at what I called The Hair Institute (Ageless Products) where you grow hair on bald heads, but that will be for another day and another blog.)

I remember well on a Sunday night me and an agent in the office going to the airport in Charlotte to pick up the lady from the home office and transport her butt to little honkie town and putting her in our then finest motel. Now first off, I did not sell insurance, we did not have to be licensed. Thank the good Lord, cause I hated hearing that insurance lingo that I knew nothing of , nor did I want to know anymore than I had to. All I did was handle the monies and make sure the books and the bank statements balanced and tried to remind folks to pay so their insurance wouldn't collapse as they would say! We picked that nice lady up and she was going to be there with me for one week and then I was on my own.

Welp by Tuesday I was a crying. I had hit the top of the stress level and my anxiety too and I said I just cannot do this. Oh, but she encouraged me through my crying spell and I musta got the hang of it cause I never cried another time the entire week. Well I took it upon myself to entertain this nice lady named Ann and we sorta clicked and to be down right honest, we had a heck of a good time even while we was working.
At nights I would take her home with me and the boys were still playing baseball so I would drag her to the ballfield with us. She really liked sports so we got along dandy. I would then drop her off at the motel and then pick her up in the mornings to go to work.

First this, I just now getta phone call to vote for Bill Purcells and I ask the girl if he is a democrat or republican and she don't know! I lecture her abit and then ask her if he running against the Kissell fellow and I heard her a asking some others like she did on the my first question. I said hon, I will vote Tuesday, but best you find who your man is fore you call anymore peons like me, ya hear and she said yes mam. Now that takes the cake. Some dummie calling for us to vote for someone she don't know a thing about cept his name. Is it me, or is that just dumb? Oh well.

Anyhow, that girl got me all upset... Our week went well and I learned to do what I hadda do on that computer and also you could email, but only to company folks. So Ann and I emailed and she introduced me via computer to a friend in Indiana and we all three emailed. To make a long story short, it was about two months away til Thanksgiving and Jo, the friend in Indiana invited me up to visit with her family and Ann for Thanksgiving so I got my tickets to go to Chicago, leaving on Wednesday and coming back on Sunday night. I was so cited as I had never flown in nothing but little puddle jumpers over here at the airport.

It got here fast and on that plane I was headed for Chicago. Now it was 70 degrees here when I left so I took a blazer and wore one. If I didn't get to Chicago and it was -9 degrees and snowing, I ain't sitting here. Well nothing was gonna spoil my trip, we were walking the streets of Chicago window shopping in the snow and me freezing my fanny off with just my blazer. Although I did buy a pair of boots while I was there. They treated me to the best time of my life. I got to go to the top of the Sears Towers and that elevator went so fast it made your ears fly shut. From the viewing place, you could see three states, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.

Of course on Thanksgiving Day the families were over and I was treated so nice and had a lovely meal. Welp on Friday night they wouldn't tell me where they were gonna take me, but they had "tickets" for it. Sooooo we load up and head for Chicago and of course I have no idea where I am, but I was a Chicago Bulls fan enough to know Chicago Stadium when I saw it and I thought OH BOY, I am gonna see Michael Jordan play some basketball tonight!!! As we walked towards that stadium and I saw the lights I gotta selfishly say I was so disappointed, no ballgame, but Walt Disney's Holiday on Ice. Welp Jo had two little younguns and they were tickled pink and of course I got tickled a little, but not a whole lots. It was beautiful, I admit, but cold, oh me and oh my. I never let on that I had round ball on my mind, but I did know that Jordan had been in that place. I hated to hear when they tore it down.

Welp on Saturday night they took me out to a Japanese joint where they cook in front of you and throw the knives up in the air. Now you gotta remember I am a country girl and ain't never flown and shore ain't been to no big city. I was in a daze, but that was some more tasty food. I think they said it was Russian dressing on the salad, but that was without a doubt the best dressing I have ever eaten.
I got snow stuck in the airport and my flight was delayed but I finally rolled into Charlotte at 2 a.m. I was ever so glad to see Jerrell and be home. We had to hurry cause I had to be at work at 8 a.m.
That folks was akin to the saying of "when the country comes to town". There was so much more I could tell ya that happened but have kept you folks too long as it is.

Oh and btw, what started it all with the politic girl was I tolder that Laura Bush had just called fore her and I had hung up on her cause it was a recording and that is when I started questioning her about ole Purcells. I could have scared the poor girl, but I still think its a shame to be polling for somebody you know nothing about. I can't like politics no how, I just like to vote cause I can and I spose to!



God Bless!

2 comments:

Jana said...

I'm glad you got there and back in one piece and made a couple new friends to boot. Do you take a coat with you when you travel after spending days in Chicago without one? Sorry you got so cold there, but sure looks like you had a fun time all the same.
Good for you giving that girl the what-for since she was calling for a candidate she doesn't know a thing about. Sad they pay those kids to talk but don't tell them what they're talking about! Just a piece of paper with a speech on it and a phone.. "here read this"... so much for the information era.

Anonymous said...

can't wait to hear about your work with the hair place!!