More Characterization in the Big O

I'm digging up some Blogger posts I wrote when I first started - back in 2009. When I had 5 whole readers...Paul and Amy. And I don't know who else. People who mistakenly came upon the blog thinking it was porn? I didn't know how to use labels then...so who knows...

This one continues my current theme - about characters in my life through the years...

In 2009 I had just begun working in Des Moines after making a big change in my life. I had accepted a job at the Department of Natural Resources (I'm not blogging about any of those DNR characters for a long time!).

A friend, Joan McFee, had graciously agreed to allow me to live at her place part time - so I didn't have to drive back and forth to our home in Creston. Joan's niece Krissy (Amy's age - grew up in Creston) was living with Joan too. During our shared evenings, Kristina would describe to me the angst of her first job post-college. The discussion helped dredge up memories of "My First Job".

I recently posted about my first job in Sioux Falls, SD at a grocery wholesaler - and the interesting boss, Kermet. What an education! The mechanic, a guy probably in his upper 50's, who worked on the delivery trucks was also quite a character. His name was Laurence. Laurence liked to take a nip or two while he worked. I couldn't complain though - he helped advise me on the care and maintenance of my 1977 Chevy Monza 4 speed. I didn't know a soul in that town except for the people at work. I valued their advice - liquor soaked or not.

After I worked in Sioux Falls for a mere 8 months, I was asked if I'd like to transfer to the Omaha branch of the company as Office Manager there. Let's see - more money and closer to home? Would I? In a heartbeat! It just so happened that my cute boyfriend had taken a job in Oakland, IA - some 20 miles from Omaha. And my baby sis, Betso was attending Creighton University in Omaha. Ah fate and destiny!

With the help of my high school friend Chris Deardorff, I found a great apartment out near Boy's Town that was bright and airy. I visited the famed Nebraska Furniture Mart and purchased a couch, bed and bedroom furniture, and butcher block kitchen table with chairs. On moving day, there was a mix up and it took Betsy's fierce call to the Mart to get the stuff delivered. It took a few more years for me to get the confidence to do my own bitching at people. (Though I still don't like to)

Pic from Vic's bachelorette Party in Omaha 1981 - Wild Night...looks like I had a head start

Once I moved, I was overjoyed to find out that two of my Atlantic friends were also coming to town. Robyn (of Robbie Dob fame) and Chris Deardorff were making the move for love (Robyn was moving with her husband to be Glenn) and jobs. What fun! The 3 amigos got together nearly every week to cook a meal. On Fridays we'd meet at the Rusty Scupper, a bar/restaurant in West O. It was a fun time in my life. Talk about characters - Robyn and Chris. Love 'em!

Oh yeah...the job. The Omaha branch of Gamble Robinson was located in the Old Market (it's now a parking lot near the brew pub). It was a very old building (read dump) that was below street level - you parked and walked down metal steps to the warehouse. But the location was great - the Old Market is one of my favorite places in the world! I loved lunchtime walks.

The branch manager in Omaha was Ron Nearman, a very nice straight-laced guy. No weapons in his desk! The rest of the staff was a lesson in diversity for me!

• Executive Secretary Pat - the 50ish spinster with a boyfriend. Gruff, crusty exterior. Creston, IA native.
• Lila - 40ish lesbian bookkeeper, quirky and nice once she learned to trust me
• Nedda - 300 pound Italian lady with bouffant hair, married, one child - tender heart
• Karen, the cute blond Unwed mother. Hooked up with a truck driver who delivered to our company long enough to get preggers
• And me - the office manager, by then all of 23 - supposed to be in charge of everyone but Pat.

Then there were the salesmen:

• Pete, a kindly older gentleman who traveled in SW Iowa
• Ed a nice guy who traveled the Council Bluffs area
• Dan, a groovy divorcee
• Lester "Red" Eymann - the most homely man you've ever seen who was lewd and crude and you had to love him! In today's world Red would be a walking sexual harassment poster boy! When I would walk through the sales office sometimes Red would make a slurping noise and say, " I could just eat you up or slurp you." There were many more. I learned to deflect comments like that. Today comments like that wouldn't be tolerated!

Last but not least was Jackson - the lumper. Lumpers were not employed by GR, but they were necessary! They hung around to help unload semis as they arrived, and were paid in cash by truck drivers. Jackson was a large black man with a friendly personality. He liked to gamble and drink. When he was flush, he would head to Sioux City to the dog track. There weren't any casinos in Council Bluffs back then and that was the closest track. I heard that after I left, Jackson appeared in the picture window into the manager's office, buck naked after one bender....guess he was on a hot streak....

Out in the warehouse there were lots of good guys. They taught me things about bananas (get your mind out of the gutter). Bananas arrive in the country Kelly green. They must be ripened in special rooms with gas before you get them. Other refrigerated rooms in our warehouse were damp and some were dry. GR employed a crew of mainly African American women who prepared the chopped veggies/lettuce etc. that the company sold to restaurants.

My desk in Omaha was an old wooden one - I pulled it out in the morning and pushed it back in each night. I worked long hours, and worked early every Saturday morning to complete a report. Those were the days of early IBM mainframes so I learned to run the computer with its tiny little LED screen. I "Balanced" the books each month, which was a huge challenge since it seemed huge amounts of produce seemed to disappear. Then I'd be out in the warehouse quizzing the staff.

They must have liked me, because when Paul and I moved (we were married in 1982) to Osage, IA in 1984 they created a job for me, traveling up to Wisconsin to do training in small branches up there. I do love my Snoboy (Gamble Robinson's brand) stuff! I found an old Snoboy wood box in an Atlantic antique store and a Snoboy cranberry ad in Valley Junction. Maybe first jobs aren't so bad after all...