A Man of Many Hats

Looking back over the years I thought about the many jobs that I have been fortunate enough to say "I did that".

I started young,  following the lead of my older Brother Bud, I fetched coffee and doughnuts for the cattleman at the livestock auction while they sat surveying the livestock in the arena.  I think I was about 5 years old when I took on that endeavor.  I would walk up to them and say "Mr. Brown, you look like you need a cup of coffee!" They would smile and say "You know Johnny, a cup of coffee would taste pretty good right now." In a flash I was across the parking lot to the small cafe, in the backdoor and back to him with the coffee piping hot.  I would usually bring him a donut with a "you looked like you could use a donut too."  Out would come the quarter with a "Thank ya Johnny, ya know you right, coffee isn't good coffee without a donut to go with it."   5 cents for the coffee, 10 cents for the donut, 10 cent tip..."  I would settle up with the cafe owner later at the end of the day...

From there to around 8 years old came out the  Christmas Cards Catalog in the Fall and Garden and Flower Seeds in the Spring.   Not every boy had his own 410 shotgun at 9 years old nor was there another young man who could blow taps on his very own Bugle each each evening to put the neighborhood to rest for the night. 

During the first few days of summer, it was picking and selling fresh corn on the cob to the people of Austin after putting a ad in the local paper... 4 cents a ear if they picked it, 5 cents a ear if we picked it.  And believe me there were thousands of ears of corn picked by my Brothers and I. 

 

At  14 I was "dipping minnows" for the local fisherman at the little Hog-Eye Bait Shop starting at 5 a.m on the first day that Decker Lake (now known as Walter E. Long Lake) opened and for the next year afterwords.   That 1st day the line of Fisherman was all the way out into the parking lot until about 10 am... 4 minnows, 8 minnows, a dozen, 4 minnow, 8 minnows 2 dozen, 4 minnows, 8 minnows 3 dozen, and I gave ya an extra 4 minnows for good luck I would tell them with a wink .... Good Fishing Sir as I glanced over at my "Tip Jar" and pay the lady at the counter sir" "Well thank ya son, with usually a 25 cent tip.

Hmmm.. 25 cent tip every 5 minutes.. Hmm... add 3 dollars an hour in tips to the salary of $1.10 meant I was making $4.10 and hour which allowed for a Brand new Full Sized 3 speed Schwinn Bike was what I was riding  within the 2nd month of the summer. 

At 16,  I was back to working the "pens" at the same livestock auction on Sunday afternoons and "sliding" out of school early on Mondays to help in those alleyways for the weekly auction.  Helped pay for the 65 VW Bus down payment...   

Over the next 50 some odd years we won't even go into how many hats I have worn. Some I'm very proud of, some... we won't even mention.  But.... even to this day... I look at each job as a challenge. A way to show the world that you can "do it" if you make your mind up that you can...

I've got 4 months until I'm going to step back, relax and let the Social Security Checks start rolling in that I think I pretty well deserve... It may get me a cup of coffee each day down at Starbucks early in the morning where you'll find me, sitting back and enjoying the "good life"..... Maybe...

Could I still deliver a cup of coffee fast? I have no doubt... but now it's my turn.... 

Johnny

5/9/2016