During the summer of after high school, and before college, I was working hard to have enough money to pay for my upcoming college adventure. I was smart enough to get in college, but not smart enough to get a free ride. I had been working as a bag boy for a grocery store for almost two years by this time. A big step up from previous jobs held as a kid.
The work was okay, it was sort of boring, but it paid better than most jobs I could get so I stayed with it for those two years. The manager of the grocery store though never really seemed to like me. I never knew why, perhaps my personality was a little to colorful for a grocery store worker.
As I had graduated, I decided that as I was going to school full time, and working almost full time, I could now take on a second job. It would double up my money in a few months, and then it was college, so it seemed like a good idea. I went looking for a second job. I was up front with my boss about it, and of course he was not too pleased. He told me that was fine, but my first obligation was to the job I currently had.
I found a job as a dishwasher on a local military base and it paid more than what I was making bagging groceries. It was sixteen hours, two days a week, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I took the job, as there was no problem with the schedule I was on which was Monday through Friday, mornings and afternoons…. When I told my grocery store boss I found a job that did not interfere with my current schedule, and was only two days a week, I thought he would be okay with it.
How naive I was to think that it was not a problem. On the second week of working two jobs, I came in and checked my grocery store work schedule, only to discover that I was now working Saturday and Sunday days. I went to my boss, explained again I was saving money for college, and I could work any schedule during the week except Saturday and Sunday. Of course that was a problem for him. I mentioned again that I had already spoken to him before this second job, and thought I was clear about what I could work.
The boss turned it into an ultimatum, and told me if I was not here Saturday morning there would be problems. Me being me, I told him I would not be there Saturday morning and he should start looking for someone to work Saturday, and Sunday in my place. I needed money for college, and I thought he was being totally unfair. Of course that is exactly what he did. When I came in to work following the weekend, he gave me my paycheck and told me I was fired.
I thought that was the end of my college world, what would I do for money now as there were only a few months to make any before my school started. As luck would have it, they liked my work on the base, and once they heard my predicament they made it possible for me to work full time as a dishwasher food line helper!
After all these years, I never have understood what the problem was with my grocery store boss. It was possible that the boss knowing I was leaving at the end of summer decided to cut his losses and get a new kid hooked on money during the summer when the pressure of working and school was not there.
Or, it was possibly, he never liked me, and wanted me gone, but I never did anything bad enough to be fired. I always, and many future bosses agreed, I am a good person to have in their business, whatever business it was. At any rate, life goes on, though on days like today, I ponder what was the real reason he did what he did, being fairly sure he knew what the outcome would be.
