Handy man for a nice old lady and her invalid husband - yard work, etc. Sometimes i'd play puzzles and games with the old man. She used to have me clean her windows with vinegar and newspaper and her gutters with baking soda and a tire brush. Longest. Days. Ever. Windex and powerwashers work a LOT better!
I did basic from Nov - Dec '66. Went to tech school at Amarillo until roughly March of '67. First assignment was to Reese 60 miles down the road in Lubbock. It was somewhat of a relief to get orders to Nam a couple of years later and get the hell out of the Texas panhandle. :lol:
Rice fields. When I was a Jr. in high school, my dad told me it was time to quit playing sports 24/7 and get a job so I did. My grandmother was upset I went to work for another farmer instead of my uncle but I wanted to be my own person and not rely on family. Funny thing is that after about 5 weeks of sun to sun and $25.00 a day (Which was a lot for me, living at home) my dad told me he missed not seeing me "Have fun" but I told him I loved working and having a pocket full of money. Rich on Friday, broke on Sunday- the local bars got most of it. First "Real" job, I wanted to again get a job on my own merits (My father was on the local school board two terms) so I interviewed at two schools in Calcaisieu Parish. On the second interview the principal wanted to hire me on the spot but found out, upon calling the Personnel Director, that I'd already been placed at the other school. I told him I wanted to be at his school and he told her he'd never begged before and that I wanted to stay at his school and she allowed me too. First thing I did was buy a new truck and get rid of my buick regal. The job was interesting- teaching PE, French and coaching (Asst) 7th & 8th grade football and basketball. Had two undefeated football teams and one in basketball but the school (Oak Park Middle) was LOADED with talent and the two guys I coached with were very good coaches- I just rode on their coattails and tried to learn all I could in the process. After two years, came home to teach English- it was my major and what I really enjoyed. Also took a basketball team (8th grade) and had an undefeated team my second year. Have turned down several HS coaching jobs (Baseball/softball) cause my kids are first as long as they choose to play. Love education, kids are the bomb. Very rewarding when former students/athletes (Or their parents) come back and say something done or said made a difference in their lives cause I'm just a common ol coonass.
What did you do in the rice fields. My Dad rice farmed and I spent way too many hours in the uncomfortable seat of that damn old Case tractor. That and walking levees in the summer from sunrise to sunset with a shovel. :cry:
kind of a job was i boarded a couple of horses when i was 14-15. we raised horses and i had the job of being up at 5 for feeding, breaking ice on the ponds in the winter, etc. not to mention the cleaning out stalls after school. so i figured if i was having to do that anyway, why not board a couple to earn some money. the first outside clerical/secretarial summer job when i was 16. the whole 8-5 office bit. typing, filing, all that stuff. but i was good and fast at what i did, and by the end of the summer i was helping with the books and payroll. my dad tried having me help out by driving the hay truck one summer. but the clutch in the old hay truck and i did not get along. the guys hauling hay got really tired of getting thrown off the truck and told him either i went or they went. so dad had to fire his daughter.
A lot of that- we didn't use back-hoes at that time but farmers have so much more land now it's more common- we used to let water out with a shovel and I can remember being hungover, being in the "bottom" of a field, cutting a levee and letting the water run clean before drinking from my hands filled. Also pulled red rice in the mornings, coffee weeds in soybeans, ran a combine, and sometimes drove a rice truck since I lived a mile from a dryer and would take the late load in the morning on my way back to work. Back then we'd "Flag" for the cropdusters too- pre-GPS. I remember the torture of the fertilizer falling on my shoulders as the plane would pass, after MANY passes. I'd wear sleeveless T's and would cover with the flourescent flag sometimes as the plane passed but you'd have to hurry and count off your next steps before it turned around and got lined up for the next pass. In '82 we were one of the first to crawfish in our Parish and other farmers would laugh, thought it was "Low class". Back then, it was 100% tax free til ol Uncle Sam saw the $$. When I was VERY young, my dad was farming and we had a Case that ran on butane. He quit farming to go to Law School at LSU and said they probably took his app and said this coonass won't be here long. He and my mom kept the dictionary they'd use- she'd look up words for him that he didn't know the meaning of and they'd highlight 'em. It was a pretty bright dictionary when all was said and done. :hihi:
