Geezer

There are 380 posts filed in Geezer (this is page 35 of 38).

Where I’ve worked: U.S. Navy: Signing up

The Navy: it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure, as the advertising went. In truth it’s a job and so much more. How does one fit the “so much more” into a post about jobs? How does one choose to take on such an adventure?

It was the fall of 1987. I was a recent high school graduate working part-time at the local hardware store. Most of my friends went off to college, beginning adventures of their own. The thought of college didn’t excite me – the thought of becoming a future cube dweller didn’t excite me – and I put zero effort into applying. Still, I knew I was missing out on something and I wondered where I would find my adventure. I felt very alone at that point in my life.

My parents prodded me to enroll at the local community college but I wasn’t thrilled at that prospect, either. They then suggested the military, and without many other adventurous opportunities it began to sound appealing. My brother Allen had joined the Army earlier and seemed to be liking it. Why not look at the Navy?
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The ghosts of Children’s House

I’ve been checking the webserver logfiles here on MT.Net and note that a number of Google searches have brought people here looking for information on the Children’s House of Raleigh (CHR). Every time I discover someone else searching for that now-defunct school it makes me sad. Among other kids, our daughter got a great education at CHR. I felt a real kinship with the staff and other parents. Then the wheels came off. I’m not really sure what happened, but for whatever reason it just didn’t work out.

It’s tough to see something you poured love and work into come to an inglorious end.

The other end of larceny

My recent Hechinger post brought to mind one other tale worth sharing, one I didn’t know how to weave into the rest of my narrative.

One of the part-tome guys who worked at the store was much like me: a clean-cut middle class young man. He was the son of an IBMer and probably never wanted for much growing up. He was pretty friendly and though he worked in a different department we would always say hi to each other.

Then one night my image of him changed completely. We were at a party thrown by one of our coworkers. I took him up on his offer to check out the stereo in his red Mustang. Seeing how impressed I was, he offered to get me one just like it for $50.

What, I said? He then casually explained that he knew some people who could get him “hot” stereos and radar detectors and could hook me up if I wanted.
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Where I’ve worked: Hechinger

My Hechinger Badge

After my shoddy treatment at Dart Drug and my detours at the W. Bell and the computer store, I circled back to the Sugarland Run shopping plaza and applied to the hardware store where we always shopped: Hechinger, also known as the “World’s Most Unusual Lumber Yard.” Boy, was I glad I did!

It was May 1987: one month away from my high school graduation. I walked into the store, inquired about a job, and was walked back to the employee lounge in the back to fill out the application. I was then shown into the office of the store manager. The manager was a portly man with impeccable manners and a friendly, gentle, fatherly manner. He sat me down and asked a few general questions, most not directly related to hardware, from what I recall. It was more about my longer-term goals, just feeling me out. I seem to recall I set my sights high at that meeting. I was feeling pretty confident.

I can still recall the thrill I felt when he told me I was hired. I’d be making about $5 an hour – a nice jump from my Dart Drug days – and I would be assigned to the hardware department. I thanked him and walked out. I couldn’t wait to get to work!
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My webpage from 1995

I’m probably going to regret this, but I put my old homepage from 1995 online again. Surprisingly it renders very well on modern browsers. As for me, I don’t render as well as I used to!

The pic above shows my brother Jeff and my friend Scott (with, uh, me in the middle). We were roommates at the time and working as roadies for Soundgarden. Ok, not really, but we sure do look like it!

The account name “buddha” was the one my roommate Scott picked out. I’m not sure where the “Flea Forum” came from, but there it is. You can see what my life on the Internet was like in 1995 here.

There weren’t many webpages back in those days, kiddies.

Where I’ve worked: W. Bell & Co.

W. Bell & Co. employee card

After my stint at Dart Drug I looked for a company that would value my trustworthiness. It was April 1987. A classmate of mine worked at a catalog showroom store and suggested I apply there. It sounded a bit more professional than what I’d just done, so I filled out an application and got an interview.

The store was W. Bell & Co.: a now-defunct Rockville, MD-based retail catalog showroom chain that once thrived in the D.C. area. My friend worked at the Tysons Corner store doing what I wanted to be doing: selling electronics. The store manager had different plans for me, however: he wanted me to sell jewelry. Jewelry was W. Bell’s mainstay. I gave it a shot and showed up the following Monday wearing slacks and a tie.
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Where I’ve worked: Dart Drug

One of my many nametags

I was mistaken in saying the nameless computer store was my first job in Virginia. That honor actually goes to Dart Drug Corp. Dart Drug was a chain of D.C.-area drug stores similar to CVS only dirtier and much less professional. Dart was the creation of Herbert Haft and his big-haired, feuding family. But well before the Haft family turned on each other the company was going through troubled times. The management of the chain had just bought the company and the business always seemed to be on the brink of collapse.

I had been talked into working there by my friend Evan MacKenzie. It was a job, and even at a pay rate of $3.66 per hour it was better than nothing (or McDonald’s, I figured at the time). I never considered it a long-term employer but it suited my needs for a time. If there’s one good thing about a skimpy paycheck it’s that it’s less likely to bounce. So in September of 1986 I applied for a job and soon pinned on my name badge at the Dart Drug store in the Sugarland Plaza shopping center, 247 Harry Flood Byrd Highway in Sterling, VA.
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Fallen friend

Marty Glendening

I’ve been spending a little time here and there sorting through the hundreds of videotapes I’ve created over the years. I watched one tonight from my Navy days, featuring a tour of my ship. One of my shipmates walks up and says hello: a guy named Marty Glendening. He was soft-spoken but a heck of a guy.

After watching the tape I popped his name into The Google to see if I could find him. That’s when I got the sad news that he is no longer with us. He died at the young age of 31. I found his obituary on this site:

Martin Glendening

STANTON – Martin Alan “Marty” Glendening, 31, of San Diego died Thursday, May 29, 1997, in San Diego. Graveside service will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Evergreen Cemetery. Arrangements are by Gilbreath Funeral Home.

He was born Aug. 16. 1965, in Las Vegas. He served in the Navy for 12 years. Survivors include his wife, Deborah Glendening, and two daughters, Michelle Glendening and Chelsie Glendening, all of San Diego; his parents, Jeff and Michaeleen Glendening of Tarzan; four sisters, Debbie Smith of Stanton, Tracy Paulk of Lamesa, Jill Allred of Mesquite and Elizabeth Washburn of College Station; his grandmother, Virginia Glendening of Midland; and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins.

Learning that one of my friends died makes me feel old.

One year later

It was one year ago today that I lost my job at AddressDoctor. While at times I wished that job might have lived up to its potential, I certainly don’t miss the headaches involved with the way I was managed. It’s in the past now and as always I landed on my feet. Should I ever again interview for a position I will insist on having only one boss to whom I’m responsible. Anything else is a recipe for disaster.

I don’t even need clearly defined responsibilities, though that certainly does help. I am flexible to change along with my job. In fact, I excel at entering new situations and figuring out my way around. When it comes to setting my priorities I need to hear from one person only.

Tuesday was also the one year anniversary of my totaling the minivan and barely avoiding causing serious injury to Travis. I’m so lucky things weren’t worse.

Yes, in one week alone I crashed our car and lost my job. Things have gotten considerably better since then!

Where I’ve worked: Sing-A-Song Recording Studios

The year was 1985. I had worked at my very first job for only weeks and already I was angling for the next one (sound familiar?). One day during my off time at Carowinds I wandered into one of its arcades to play video games (Commando, Paperboy, and Karate Champ were favorites). There was a new store at the end of this barn-like arcade building, full of bright spotlights, new carpeting, and three glass booths that resembled changing rooms. Curious and out of quarters for the moment, I wandered over and struck up a conversation with the owner.
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