GWguy
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Just thinking about jobs I had as a teen growing up. My longest held job was at a National Laboratory as a recreational attendant. That covered everything from lifeguarding to babysitting parties at the rec hall. Had some great perks, like while overseeing the parties, my friends and I had our own side parties using the booze my boss had stashed somewhere in the building. Don't remember much after 10pm. And there was a darkroom in the rec hall. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that one.
As a lifeguard, not only did I patrol, but taught swimming lessons to all the scientist's brats. Most were from out of country and either didn't speak English well, or didn't understand what was expected. Like one poor little girl from India. Her mom fed her Reese's peanut butter cups for lunch every day. How did I know that, you ask? Because the poor little kid got so overwhelmed at lessons, so incredibly upset that she would grab her stomach and start to cry. I knew what was coming next........ yup. Barfed all over the deck. Every. Single. Session. And it stunk of peanut butter cups. SO, stop lessons, move everybody to one side, break out the fire house and wash down the decks. I felt so important, so useful, so wondering what the hell I was doing at an indoor pool in the middle of the summer while all my friends were soaking up sun, swimming, boating, girl watching on the shores of Long Island. ugh.
And there was one elderly scientist who came in to swim laps every noon. He tried SO hard, but just never got it. He learned to swim from books ( no internet back then) and had the mechanics down, but just never made it work. If you took a wind up toy and put it in the water, that's what he looked like. Mechanically good, but no connection to the water. No flow. My brother and I would look on in amazement, waiting for him to sink.
So, what was your teen summer job like?
As a lifeguard, not only did I patrol, but taught swimming lessons to all the scientist's brats. Most were from out of country and either didn't speak English well, or didn't understand what was expected. Like one poor little girl from India. Her mom fed her Reese's peanut butter cups for lunch every day. How did I know that, you ask? Because the poor little kid got so overwhelmed at lessons, so incredibly upset that she would grab her stomach and start to cry. I knew what was coming next........ yup. Barfed all over the deck. Every. Single. Session. And it stunk of peanut butter cups. SO, stop lessons, move everybody to one side, break out the fire house and wash down the decks. I felt so important, so useful, so wondering what the hell I was doing at an indoor pool in the middle of the summer while all my friends were soaking up sun, swimming, boating, girl watching on the shores of Long Island. ugh.
And there was one elderly scientist who came in to swim laps every noon. He tried SO hard, but just never got it. He learned to swim from books ( no internet back then) and had the mechanics down, but just never made it work. If you took a wind up toy and put it in the water, that's what he looked like. Mechanically good, but no connection to the water. No flow. My brother and I would look on in amazement, waiting for him to sink.
So, what was your teen summer job like?