Did your mother have a job?

For most of my childhood, I don't remember Mom working but I know that she had a job most of the time. She was always there and always a help to Mernie and me. She had a job down on Main Street at the Credit Bureau as a skip tracer. She would work with credit collectors and help them trace down people who owed others money. I remember being in the car with Dad and dropping her off at work. I don't think that she worked there a long time but I remember the green door where she would go inside. I also remember Mom doing some cleaning jobs early in the morning. She had a job cleaning a bar on Main Street called "Aniello's". It was located near the corner of Main and First Capitol and I think it is an antique store now?? We used to get up early on Saturdays and Sundays and I would go down there with her to vacuum and wipe down tables. She did it for some extra money when Dad was going through the Police Academy. I remember going with her to help and I would get to keep any spare change that I found on the floors. I would always go and check out the juke box to see if there were quarters inside and crawl under all of the tables and booths to find coins. I also remember emptying out the bucket that caught all of the beer bottle caps. It smelled of stale beer but - for some reason - I loved that smell. Maybe it just reminded me of being with my Mom and helping her out. The smell wasn't good but it made me feel good and warm. I also remember Mom working for Rauch Truck Lines when I was in high school. She was a billing secretary and would type up all of the bills and invoices. Her building was on Second Street - the building is gone now. I remember driving her to work on school breaks so that I could use the car during the day so it must have been when I was a sophomore or junior in high school. She enjoyed that job and was good at it. Mom always talked about working at St. Joseph's Hospital in her high school days in the food service area and as a candy striper. She had a job there with a couple of her school friends and she really enjoyed that job too. After Dad passed away, Mom wanted to get a job just to give her something to do and took a job in food service with a couple of nursing homes and at Franklin Elementary School. She didn't really need the money or job but wanted to get out and work a little and spend time with other people. She also really enjoyed washing dishes because the warm water felt really good on her arthritic hands.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where was your childhood home located?

When I was born, my parents brought me home to 1148 South Benton Street. I have very little memory of this home except for the backyard and a brick bbq pit located in the backyard. I have a few memories of the basement and a few other things but not many real memories. I remember crawling around the backyard with a stick in my hands and my Dad pretending to be rabbit hunting with me....I had on a hooded sweatshirt and we were "army crawling" around the yard and were trying to sneak up on rabbits that were back there. I remember looking up at my Dad and seeing his black rimmed glasses right next to me and I can still feel his strong arm across my back as I held tightly to my stick (pretend gun!) and wait for the rabbits to jump out. I also remember that our basement had a cellar door access with steps that lead out to the backyard. I remember opening the door that led upstairs and seeing a snake laying on the floor of stairwell. Mom grabbed me and picked me up and w...
Read more

Did you ever get into fights with other kids?

I think that I only got into one fist fight as a kid. It was with Tom Stiegemeier and it happened behind Hudson's Chiropractic clinic off of Kingshighway. There was also a florist shop in the same building and I remember the empty flower boxes being in the alleyway. We were walking home from 7th grade and he said something mean about my Dad. I think he called him a "Pig" - which was a derogatory term for a policeman. I remember that I got so mad at him that I swung around and hit him square in the jaw and I felt like I broke my hand. I had never punched someone before and it scared me to death. I immediately started crying - I was just so upset and mad that I guess that I didn't know how to handle those emotions. Tom swung back at me and I avoid the punch but then he grabbed me and we started wrestling to the ground. I remember that I got my coat really dirty and I was scared that I would get into trouble because of my coat. I have absolutely no recollection...
Read more

Describe the most memorable Valentine that you ever received. Who sent it to you?

I'm not sure why but I have never really enjoyed Valentine's Day. It always seemed anti-climactic and it just seemed like a sad day instead of one that was full of fun and romantic love. My most memorable Valentines have been ones that I received from Katie and Maggie. Handmade ones that they created at school or with scrap papers - pink, red and white cut out hearts and their own handwriting across construction paper. They were always very genuine and real - filled with love and purpose - rather than a created or contrived "love" that felt like Hallmark created a day to sell cards and candy instead of a love that was real and genuine. Right after Melissa and I got married in January of 2004, we went to Mexico in the middle of February on a missions trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We spent a week at an orphanage there - Rancho de Sus Ninos - and helped build a new bunkhouse and storage area in an enormous barn. We had only been married for about 2 weeks and it was t...
Read more