To Seek Other Employment

As I near retirement I often reflect back on my life, accomplishments and various jobs I’ve held. There were many jobs, maybe not so many accomplishments. Finding the perfect job was never an easy task for me. There were many reasons why I moved from one job to another. Now, as I look back, I realize one of my biggest faults was being too honest. That’s right!

You may be confused by that statement since the old adage “Honesty is the best policy,” is what many of us were raised to believe. So, I’ll explain.

My first “real job” was during my high school days. I worked as a soda jerk after school. That’s not a title you hear much anymore, which should tell you I’m not a spring chicken.

The job was great for the most part. I made ice cream dishes such as sundaes and banana splits and worked the draft beer and soft drink fountain. By the way, that was the beginning of many years I spent as an alcoholic. Not to worry, I finally licked that problem. But I digress.

You may wonder what the problem of being a soda jerk could be. So called friends were the problem. While I was working in the evening friends would come in after a movie. Some would have their dates with them. Most figured since I was a “friend” they deserved special treatment…meaning they wanted me to make their order with more ice cream, more toppings, etc.

Well, I wasn’t going to do it! I had been diligently instructed as to how each item on the menu was to be made. These “friends” cared little about that or the fact I could be fired for breaking the rules. They would wheedle, beg and plead, all the while holding up the line beginning to form behind them. Of course, this just showed the boss I was working too slowly. But, I stood my ground until finally they would move on grumbling and muttering under their breath with a standardized order…and nothing extra.

However, they weren’t through with me yet. Behind my back they told my boss I was rude and always skimped on the makings of their order, which I supposedly set aside to later make myself something. Untrue of course, but the boss’s demeanor told me it wouldn’t be long before I got the axe. So, instead of waiting for it to happen I moved on…to seek other employment.

After spending a hitch in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps I returned to civilian life and took a job at the only thing I could find, driving a taxi. That would be an easy job, or so I thought. But in a nut shell, I was accused of short changing passengers. The straw that broke the camel’s back happened when the dispatcher, unable to prove the accusation, decided to retaliate by assigning me a cab decidedly unsafe to be driven. When I protested it was put in no uncertain terms, drive it or else. It was time to move on…to seek other employment.

See http://jy3502.hubpages.com/hub/TRUE-CONFESSIONS-OF-A-TAXI-DRIVER for the entire sad story.

My next job was selling used cars. No explanation needed there.

Later, I became a route salesman for a major bread company. After a few years on the job I had built up a reputation with my customers as being honest and reliable. However, the company was rife with others who weren’t.

Eventually, a time came when the supervisor’s position was up for grabs. I was a shoe in, or so I thought. The competition came down between me and another man who had been with the company about as long as I had. I knew him well. He drank on the job and had been known to have had unscrupulous dealings with his customer base. In fact, others in the chain of command were in on most of them, so who could one turn to? Somehow, paperwork involving my accounts began showing discrepancies indicating theft of monies. Of course, long after I had submitted them. Instead of awaiting the inevitable, I moved on…to seek other employment.

After, several more route sales jobs and seeing many of my peers succumb to the temptation of how easy it was to bilk their customers, I decided…to seek other employment.

But this time, I figured to change my career field. I became a manager at a Christian men’s homeless shelter. I worked there for over 7 years. I had good honest supervisors. But all good things must come to an end as they say. And they did. The aging director retired and was replaced by someone who wasn’t as honest as they appeared to be. This person had their own agenda to line their pockets.

First, you must understand our shelter didn’t accept government faith based initiative funds. There were those in the organization who knew what could happen going down that road. We were supported by churches and community at large and doing just fine as it was.

However, the new director had full intentions of doing just that. And the director knew there would be many who would oppose the decision. I was one of those. Eventually, employees who had many years of honest, faithful service with the organization began getting fired on trumped up charges. The situation came to the point where those in opposition that weren’t fired, simply quit. I knew I was next and made the decision to move on…to seek other employment.