I got my first real job in 1990, working at a book depository in Redfield, South Dakota. I was 14 years old, just the legal age to be slave labor in SD at that time. I made $2.81 cents and hour, ripping shingles, tarring roofs (getting the worst sunburn of my life), moving books and magazines, and hauling railroad tiles. I don't know if you've ever picked up a rail road tile before, but each one weighs between 120 and 160 pounds. They're beasts! By the end of the summer I was in fantastic shape, and how could you not be, you're frickin' 14 for peet's sake. This was the hardest work, I've ever done in my entire life, and at the end a work week, I earned a whopping $112.40.
That's obviously not enough money to pay for private schooling (a whole other chapter) so I had to pick up a job at the local Pizza Hut. Which was some of the finest dining in Redfield at the time. It was my first waiting job, and most nights were filled with serving cowboys wearing ropers, trucker hats, and smelling like a combination of motor oil, old spice, and horse hide. It was primal, but all I knew at the time, and I was greatfull for my extra $18 a night. I remember making $26 one night, $9 of which were in quarters, and wondering what could I do with so much cash. I think I spent that on "Days of Thunder", the epic summer Tom Cruise Vehicle.
One of my most jarring memories of that summer, was that the Jukebox of the Local Pizza hut used to play "Achy Breaky Heart" in upwards of 10 times a night. I'm pretty sure my sister (who was also employed there) had a secret thing for Billy Ray's mullet, and tortured us with this swingin' ditty of the day. To this day, if I hear that song, it sends me into an epileptic convulsion, that in order for me to break out of, requires a stranger throwing a half eaten pizza crust at me.
A couple of weeks ago my Sister-In-Law informed me that the Pizza Hut has finally closed, and some new Pizza restaurant has gone in. I was sad for a moment thinking about the two summers I spent there, and the amount of mischief that I was a part of. RIP Redfield Pizza Hut. Gone, but not forgotten.
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For me, it was California Pizza Kitchen and the song was "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Deworst. You remember, from Titanic. Although, I was 18 and hosting. Still, I heard that song at least 4 times a night. That space is now the Levi's store on 23rd and Westover. Oh glorious days of past.
ReplyDeleteIt also must be noted that I have slandered my sister in this post. She has informed me that she never had a thing for Billy Ray Cyrus.
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