A Life's Chronology
Blake - great idea for a thread. Glad I waited until now because I thought my post might be too long; but no worries for me after reading this thread. So here goes in order from earliest job to last:
1. Age 7-12: Bagger in neighborhood grocery store (late 40's-early 50's, before the proliferation of super markets) in my hometown of Baltimore, Md. Also would put groceries in red wagon and take them home for the ladies. No salary, just tips. But in those days a nickel bought you alot.
2. Feb. '59-Sept. '59: clerk-typist/payroll clerk for medium sized construction company in Baltimore. Salary: $1 per hr.
3. Summer 1960: Worked in warehouse for Western Auto Supply Company (no longer in business) unloading freight cars, stocking freight in warehouse, and then fulfilling orders for stores. Salary: Whatever minimum wage was then.
4. School year 1960-61; Summer 1961; School year 1961-62; Summer 1962
omestic travel counsellor for AAA in Baltimore. Made up triptiks, maps, etc. for members and help them plan trips.
5. Took a year off college to change major and get my act together so from Sept. 1962 - Sept. 1963 did the following: 1)Clerk/typist for Diamond Press, printing company in Baltimore specializing in supermarket circulars; 2) Mondawmin Mall Carpet Co., carpet and rug sales; 3) Miller Chemical & Fertilizer Co. - billing and data entry clerk.
6. Sept. 1963-June 1964: Went back to continue my studies at Loyola College in Baltimore and worked as student assistant to the Athletic Director. Then in the summer of 1964 I worked for the Athletic Director and his wife who ran a young girls day camp on the campus of Loyola. At this point I thought I had a vocation to the priesthood so in Sept. 1964 left Baltimore to attend the Holy Cross Father seminary in North Easton, Mass. Came home for summer break and worked at the downtown store of The May Company (a friend of mine's Father was the store manager so I had an in). Worked there only until mid-July when I left for Bennington, Vt. for the second year of seminary known as Novitiate - a year of work and prayer. We had a working farm there and I learned how to milk cows, take care of the chickens and pigs, picked apples, stacked hay bales in the barn, etc. Being a city boy, this was all new to me, but I loved it. However, I also realized that I wasn't cut out for the priesthood, so I left in Nov. 1965.
7. I returned home and from Nov. 1965- June 1967 I worked part time during the school year and full time in the summers at The May company in various departments, e.g. Men's Furnishings, Records, Luggage and finally the credit dept. I graduated from Loyola in June 1967 and then my professional business career began. By this point I had gotten married in Jan. 1967 on semester break and we were expecting child #1.
8. July 1967-Oct. 1970: Worked for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce in Washington, DC first in the US Expositions Staff (responsible for the U.S. Pavilions at World Fairs), and then as an industry analyst covering the domestic steel industry in the Bureau of Domestic Commerce. Had child #2 in Nov. 69.
9. Oct. 1970-July 1974: Worked for Hill & Knowlton, Inc. at the time the world's largest public relations firm. Worked on various accounts but concentrated on those for various segments of the domestic steel industry as represented by its trade association - American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI). Did p.r.; trade shows; radio, tv, & print advertising; marketing promotions; speechwriting, etc. Worked in New York City - a dream come true for me to work in my favorite city on earth (go mikeyank!!!). Had last child in Sept. 72.
10. July 74-March 75: Transferred to Hill & Knowlton's DC office when the steel industry trade association moved there. Coordinated all work between client and H&K in NYC. Also did local lobbying against ban the can legislation.
11. March 75-Sept. 83: Vice President, Government Relations for American Iron & Steel Institute, responsible for all Institute activities with the congressional and executive branches of government and coordinated with the DC offices of our member companies (such as USSteel, Bethlehem, J&L), etc. From 1979-81 also had responsibility for Institute Administration (personnel policy & procedures).
12. Sept 83-Oct 89: General Manager Public Affairs for U.S, Steel in Pittsburgh. Responsible for staff of 35 covering publc affairs, city & state lobbying, annual report, community affairs, corporate media relations, corporate presentations, press conferences, etc. By this time I had come out of the closet, left USSteel and began my "gay job" phase, to wit:
13. Feb. 1990-Dec.1993: Work at the House of Tilden a gay bar and after hours club. I was club steward and also worked the door. At the same time I worked for a friend who owned the gay newspaper in town and also a phone sex line business. I wrote columns for the paper from time to time and ran the customer service part of the sex line business. I also did advertising and promotion work for another friend who owned a few of the bars here. But my health started declining more quickly and I went on social security disability.
14. At 70, I am fully retired except I work every Friday at my friend's tavern in the neighborhood in which I live.
So that's it Blake. My life as seen through the prism of my jobs. I was fortunate to have loved every job I had. My least favorite was the warehouse job only because it was a bitch unloading freight cars that smelled like chickenshit in the hot and humid summer weather of Baltimore. But I was working with a few college buddies and we made if fun.
It's hard to pick a favorite because I loved them each for a different reason. Hill & Knowlton because it was in NYCity, AISI because I discovered the best use of my talents there, and USSteel, because that job combined talents and expertise I had developed and used in the prior two.
So I was lucky. I never had a job where I would wake up in the morning and dread going to work. My heroes are the people who get up every day, go off to a job they really don't care for, but they do it anyway because they have responsibilities to themselves and/or their families.
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muhahahahhaa
XO
