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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Summer job horror stories?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s about time for some good old-fashioned horror stories.
Yep. The kids are out of school, the video games are going full blast, and you may have already heard the first whisper of “I’m bored.”
It’s time to pull out your collection of frightening summer job stories.
Everybody has at least one.
Maybe you picked up road kill off the south Georgia highways.
Maybe you cleaned bathrooms at Slumpy’s Bar.
Or maybe you worked for a political campaign.
Bring it out, shake off the cobwebs and watch the young eyes widen with every grotesque — and exaggerated — detail.
The best ones come from before the proliferation of fast-food restaurants — when teen jobs were more likely in dark stockrooms or mosquito-laden fields than at a drive-through speaker.
But even younger parents can play, because the real horror is in the telling.
My husband’s favorites are about his stints as a hotel maintenance worker in San Antonio, as a restaurant janitor in Ohio and as a stockroom worker at a Valdosta discount store.
My contributions are tales of cutting grass for the estates of the dearly departed (using push mowers and a machete), being a switchboard operator (remember Lily Tomlin’s “one ringy-dingy” in “Laugh-in), or serving as mobile librarian on a “Bookmobile” in rural Georgia. Some days I saw only the driver.
If your worst summer job was as lifeguard at the country club or Banana Boat girl at a beach resort, you have your work cut out for you.
Be careful not to overdo, however. Soon - far too soon - children reach the age where you want them to get a job. Pour on just enough to move them outside for sunshine and fireflies. Don’t warp their little brains. You don’t want them too picky.
Good summer jobs are elusive in the best of times. This year’s slumping economy has tightened the supply.
Sam Hall, director of communication for the Georgia Department of Labor, said experienced adult workers who have lost jobs in manufacturing, construction or financing may be competing for the seasonal positions teens often fill, many of which are in the leisure, retail or hospitality business. The rising cost of gasoline and its impact on disposable income could also affect how many seasonal positions are offered this summer, Hall said.
Here in Snellville, the city parks and recreation department has seen an increase in adults inquiring about seasonal jobs. The department’s summer jobs have long been filled, though, most by college students returning from last summer, said Cyndee Bonacci, parks and recreation director.
Complicating a summer job search is the already congested schedules of many of today’s teens. Fitting a job around high school sports or band practices, Scout camps, driver’s education and other obligations isn’t easy.
They should persevere, however. Think of all that is learned in those first days of employment:
• the importance of a strong work ethic, punctuality and social skills.
• the importance of a paycheck.
• the realization that work is — well — work.
• the realization that not all bosses are created equal.
• the realization that some bosses are not created at all; they are the result of scientific experiments gone bad.
After all, kids need fodder for their own summer job horror stories.
What’s your most memorable summer job story? What did you learn?
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