Feeling like a sloucher

I'm feeling like a sloucher. (but a happy one) I hired my first cleaning lady today. I know - it's just Pablo, Odie and me - most of the time. So the place doesn't get too pitted out. Still - we live here...and stuff adds up. I don't do too bad at the regular every day picking-up stuff. The Clean It people will just come once a month to do the "deep cleaning" stuff that I don't get to. (mostly because I don't make myself...#poormotivation)

scene of part of the slovenliness

But I made the mistake of buying a bad vacuum cleaner...boy was that dumb! Hmmm, how could we have done that? Isn't buying a vacuum a lot like buying tires? So not fun. Unless you're my pal Chris Deardorff who really digs on sucking shit up. That's just weird. Maybe I'd get it if I had the $700 vacuum from when the Kirby guy did came and threw sand on our floor (and sucked it up) at our first house in Creston - but we'd still be making payments on the thing!

When I was a kid, we always had a cleaning lady. The first one was Mrs. Grey. She was the first black person I ever met. They may have been the only African American family in Atlantic - probably not easy back in the 60's. On cleaning day, we always ate lunch with our cleaning people - I was fascinated that the palms of her hands were so light. I'm sure I stared ever so rudely. Mom cleaned right along with our cleaning ladies. She usually - did the laundry when they were there too so they could help make up the beds. Dad was traveling Iowa selling lingerie.

The next cleaning lady I remember was Leona Wheatley - who became almost a part of the family. On deep cleaning days - windows, hardwood floors - Leona's sis Et (probably short for Etta but I never asked) would come too. Leona was quite a character - married to a man my parents said was a mean drunk. Leona was funny and never shy - she helped with all of our big family events, like weddings. Leona didn't drive so when I got my license one of my jobs was to run her home. She lived not too far from my Grandparents place at 909 Poplar.

When we lived in Creston, lots of our friends and neighbors had cleaning people. I kept threatening to get the service but never followed through. My friend Thea always lamented that she would have to clean for the cleaners. I'm not planning to do that. They're going to start out by cleaning carpets in 3 of our rooms. I'm so excited to get some of the things that have been "hanging" over me taken care of without going through the pain myself.

I hired Clean It, Inc. upon recommendation from a co-worker. I'm hoping for a good one time a month relationship! Call me lazy...with my schedule - I believe I've earned it. But I do feel like a bit of a sloucher.

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...

That sucks

The canister vac is similar to the one Deardorffs and Bullocks had

I wish I had my Grandma Morehead's old Eureka canister vacuum cleaner. It was part of our inheritance when she moved into Heritage House the retirement home in Atlantic. My friend Chris Deardorff had the job of vacuuming at her house, and that fam had a vaccuum just like it. I got to see the unit in action quite a bit because she had to finish chores before we could do fun stuff. But me...vacuuming at our house...not so much! We always had a cleaning lady. I vacuumed on special occasions, but not routinely. Hmmm those were the days!

Those old vacuums had lots of suction. At Deardorffs, when Chris was supposed to be doing chores, we had fun sucking our cheeks into the metal tube. It was actually hard to pull the vacuum tube off of our firm young skin. It would make a red round mark. I could be dreaming, but I think I remember Chris saying her brother Scott gave himself a hickey with Eureka once. How funny is that!

My current Panasonic, despite good reviews in Consumer Reports, doesn't do the job (on dirt not skin) that well. And I refuse to spend the big bucks to get an expensive unit. So I struggle along, doing a half-assed job. I should shop for a new one. The tape on the frayed electrical cord is probably another good reason why!

Back when we were young parents, door-to-door salesmen would try to sell us high dollar vacuums - Rainbow or Kirby for $600! That would be like $1,200 today. One guy even came in and spilled dirt on our lovely green pile carpet to demonstrate how great it was at sucking. (is that a great phrase or what?) Payments on a vacuum? We were already making furnace, car and house payments thank you very much! I'm amazed to find out how many people I have worked with through the year actually have those expensive vacuum units. That sales guy scored with them!

If you have a newer vacuum model that you would recommend (or a cleaning person), feel free to drop me a line!

My long weekend

Look how much I love my sissies! I love that TV too - I wonder if that's the one I used to watch Captain Kangaroo on?

I think Chris Deardorff (the red head) had ADD - she can't even pay attention to the camera. Yet Robyn (big smile front row) is hamming it up even then. Let's hope she wasn't "airing out her bottom" that day - going commando. I wish I could see what the necklace was that I have on. Is it something I won? Or some fabulous jewel? Lee - the birthday girl - blondie on the left - looks ready for everyone to just leave!

I like seeing what our house looked like. My goodness we had a lot of stuff around. I am reading right now with the lamp behind Betso. And I had the chair Mom is on for years, even got it re-covered once, but the springs just sprung too badly after 50 or so years of use. Our kitchen was so cool - with a bar sink right behind Mom.

This fireplace was in our basement right at the bottom of the stairs. In the winter, Dad used to grill on it and we'd have barbeque night - we'd eat down there. I remember Betsy sitting in her little "high" chair - it was a portable one low to the ground. But in this pic, she wasn't around yet. We had a sitter named Mrs. Wise, who didn't keep a good enough eye on me one New Years Eve. I managed to drink the charcoal lighter kept by this fireplace.

So the whole fam damily had to truck down to old Atlantic Hospital as I had my stomach pumped. Susi relates that she had to come home from Marci Cochrons - a social faux pax. All my fault. Luckily I had no ill effects from that episode. I imagine it had a large part in me ending up working to bring safe disposal of household hazardous waste to Iowans. Burp!

Blog continued:

My weekend is nearly at an end. I really could do one more day without being totally bored. Alas I must get back to work. Today was quiet - church at 9 a.m. was the most excitement. Yes, not to worry - I prayed for all you heathens.

McFees and Higgins came over yesterday afternoon to watch some bowl games. Good to see everyone after Christmas. Hadn't seen Sharon and Al since, welp, for a long while! I feel so bad for her - her dad Bill is getting up there in years and her mom Viv has been gone for a couple years now.

Sharon's carried the load looking after Bill, making sure he's eating and taking meds etc. But he's had some health setbacks in the past few months and things aren't getting better. He's not a good patient. I can see it wearing on her - remember how it felt to "be the ball" when Dad was at Allen House but insisted he was going home. Thank God for Kay Harris! So I'm glad Higgins were able to get out and have a couple drinks. Plus we got to catch up with Bobbie, Jeff and Kimmy.

I walked down memory lane and scanned old photos today. Sure takes me back! From college to the kid's youthful years. I worried about both children of course- both were on the road. Amy traveling back up to Beaver Creek in snowy weather to work at Beano's. She's not going back until tomorrow a.m. so I'll continue to fret until she's back in Denver safe and sound. And Jud and Kara drove to Owatonna MN to meet her family. Gulp! I texted him asking if they were as wierd as we are. He got right back to me saying "Nope your weirder" Geez doesn't anybody in today's generation now the diff between you're and your? One is possessive! But I texted back and said "good!"

I want to be weird and interesting!

EWF

Me in lovely Hawaiian shirt, Rob, Chris behind and Vic.

Earth Wind and Fire

My best memories of EWF are from Iowa City. Whaaaat you ask? The place of the root of all evil? But, si - es verdad.

We jump in the wayback machine. I was in college, and I drove my little red Chevy Monza to visit my friend Chris at the Chi O house at the U of I. Robbie Dob drove over from Atlantic. (she was a former Iowa student, but unfortunate circumstances prevented her return after her frosh year - nobody told her she had to actually attend class) It must have been our junior or senior year.

So we had an Atown reunion in Iowa City. I don't remember the whole weekend. I do remember driving together in my car with my EWF cassette playing, singing at the top of our lungs. Then we went for pizza and there was a singer dude - guitar, microphone. Robyn, being Ms Friendly got to chatting with him. Chris was no slouch there either. Before we knew it, we were posing on the stage with the microphone.

I recall being downtown at some point - at the Airliner. And drinking beer. Robyn, Chris and I always had a grand time together. One time those same gals came to ISU for a weekend - our frosh year (Robyn had not yet flunked out). We all hit the showers together - it was the dorms - we could do that, there were 3 in a row. We sang "Lady Sings the Blues" in 3 part harmony (okay we just sang) sounding so much like Diana Ross we had an audience when we got out. haha

I miss those guys...