Thursday, May 20, 2010

My Illustrious Career...Part Seven

My older sister's husband at the time had a delivery job at a
local California furniture outlet, McMahan's Furniture.
We are still in 1976, I had just turned 20, so it must have been
during the summer.

So this past brother-in-law told me that there was an opening
with the company, and he could probably put in a good word for
me. He did warn me that it was hard physical work, we would be
loading furniture for delivery onto a truck, and then going out
and delivering it to customers.

This was to be what I considered my first 'real' job...a
legitimate steady job with a well-known company, making a
decent wage for hard work. It was pretty nice being able to
work with my brother-in-law, he was only a few years older
than myself, and we got along well.

We delivered sofas, beds, various tables, easy chairs and the
like. Once we were finished with all the deliveries, we could
call it a day. When we got back to the warehouse at the end of
the day, we would go over the invoices for the next day and
load everything for that day before going home. That way we
could come in the next morning and relax with coffee and maps
before going out on the route, and not be burned out right at
the beginning of our day.

This was pretty hard physical work, and even though I was a
very young person, on a hot day you could really feel it. I
was able to carry a loveseat all by myself by hoisting it over
my head and balancing it there while walking. Easy chairs, the
same thing. A long sofa did require two of us to carry it.

I remember that a delivery on the ground floor was always easy...
carrying stuff up a flight or two of stairs was real work, as
you can imagine. But it was good work...I was never afraid of
physical labor...unless it was hot.

To pass the time while driving, we would have little contests
where we would have to guess the title of a song on the radio
within the first few seconds of it coming on. In those days,
we listened to KLOS and KMET in LA...and such memories they
were...

And now I notice that I was up to six separate jobs for the year
1976 alone...

Peace be with you.

14 comments:

  1. Wow, you could carry a loveseat over your head! That job sounds like very strenuous, painful work. Physical labour type jobs seem to be a starting job for many young men. Six jobs in a year is a lot! And it seems you had a lot of jobs in other years too... I like that you remember your routine of listening to the radio so clearly. Music tends to transport us, doesn't it?! I think those simple details are the ones that stick in our memories... They are certainly most vivid, I think.

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  2. First you have impressed me by hoisting a sofa and carrying it solo!!! Second, I remember that furniture chain...they may still be around not sure. Third...you just brought back so many cool memories..I miss KMET...this was one of my favorite stations. 97.1..I miss it..now it is called the Wave...smooth jazz...good office music that is playing in the background of mine right now. We still have KLOS. I miss the old DJ'S like dusty Street and Uncle Joe Benson and so on...so now I guess we wait for part 8....looking forward to it!!!

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  3. Can't even imagine that job. You earned every penny, Mister!

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  4. 95.5 KLOS is about the best radio station I have found here Joe, needless to say it is the one I listen to.

    Yes Sir it is amazing at how much we actually carried when we were that age.

    Enjoyed the post my Friend.

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  5. You must have built some pretty awesome biceps packin that furniture around. Just thinking about it sends my back into spasms, heh.

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  6. Thanks for reading, ya'll.
    Hey, Dr. Soosie...I am just a few years older than you, not sure if I remember those DJ's as clearly as I remember Ace Young and Jeff Gonzer...and Dr. Demento on Sunday nights, yep! I bet Jimmy and Pat remember them...

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  7. I remember Dr. Demento and even rodney on the Rocks...

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  8. I've always admired men who could carry furniture above their heads! Six jobs in one year! You were getting a lot of experience about which to blog later in your life!

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  9. hello Mister Super Strength!!!

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  10. How long were you with McMahans? Did it turn out to last a while? I get the music thing. When I hear a song, a time and place immediately comes to mind. I "Feel" where I was when it was on the radio. I'm impressed by your ambition - and your muscles!!!

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  11. Not very long, Susan, I just posted Part 8!

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  12. Fascinates me. Six jobs in one year!
    B

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  13. I used to play that 'name the song' game with my friend a few years back. Good times.

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  14. Wooow you really were strong Joe!! I can imagine that it was pretty awesome to work with someone you were really close to on that job..I'm sure you made a good team. And 6 jobs in ONE year..Woahhh!

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