Tuesday, October 30, 2007

OLD NAVY WITH ATTITUDE













In my early college days I’d catch and heave cases of durable items racing down a Spartan semi-truck’s metal rollers to the next stock boy in line. It didn’t matter if I tossed cream corn, green beans, or applesauce in jars—I instinctively plucked them off those rollers and put some air beneath them. At three-thirty every Thursday morning the nature of my game had been to bury the corner of the box into an unsuspecting chest. The faster I could choreograph inconsistent hang times, the more likelihood I’d achieve my goal.

“C’mon tough guy,” I’d say to the sleepy stock boy massaging his sternum (high tosses) or solar plexus (low tosses). I had suffered from little man’s complex and my coworkers bore the brunt of my mental anguish. “What’s a matter, box to light for ya?”

Same modis operandi with the Pepsi. I knew when to man the handcart. I never claimed forearms like Popeye. If we were unloading case loads of bottles, I’d call “dibs” on one of the dollies and wheel Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Mountain Dew into our warehouse, positioning the six cases against my right shoulder. Once I established where to park my load, I’d lean the other way, and slide the dolly out with my right foot. The not-so-bright dweebs in the warehouse would stack them twelve high, even if their arms looked like spindles. As for me, I kept wheeling more their way.

After days of searching for a mean, scary Halloween costume, I settled on today’s picture. Please, no YMCA jokes.

Have a Happy Halloween everyone.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim, That is one mean looking halloween outfit you got there! I ddin't know you were a sailor for halloween. Ah, your days a the grocery store. Have a safe and happy halloween! --Bro, Ron

Charles Gramlich said...

I remember hauling hay in the summers and enjoying the physicalness of it. Long ago I became too out of shape for that exercise. But I remember.

Cheri said...

I didn't think it until you mentioned it!


Anyways what furniture in that house! I love old stuff!

Enemy of the Republic said...

That is a fine photo. So what do you want for Halloween?

eric1313 said...

Anchors aweigh!

geewits said...

What's the covered up statue or whatever in front of the window and what's on the tray by the lamp? I have to know!

JR's Thumbprints said...

E of the R,
Perhaps I'll scare a few kids with my key-fob trick again. My mother-in-law (she passes out the candy) has a dummy travel companion in her vehicle; he's very realistic looking.

Geewits,
You're looking at a mechanical Santa holding a candle. He makes a mighty nice ghost. Also, I suspect those are surgical instruments on the tray.

Michelle's Spell said...

Hey Jim,

Love the costume, man! Happy Halloween

patterns of ink said...

I wore bell bottoms back then, too, but not REAL bell bottom trousers. When I lived in Roseville in the 60s there was a Spartan store on Frazo Road across from Federals Department Store at Eastgate Shopping Center, but it was not a grocery store--it was sort of a low-rent Wal-Mart.

Anonymous said...

You look like a Russkie. Maybe Ivan should comment? Thanks for sharing and Happy Halloween. MW :)

Nimh Sellers said...

I look at that pic and I hear popeye laughing. :>

I also worked in a bottling plant bakc in my younger days and had, "Just as good as any damn man here"-syndrome myself.

As they knew me, I ws scary proxima.

-P

geewits said...

Surgical instruments?

Whitenoise said...

BT,DT. ;-) Grocery store stocker, farmboy, chicken-catcher on a poultry farm... Good work when you're a young man, wouldn't want to be doing it in my 40s.

Great costume.

ivan@creativewriting.ca said...

Couldn't resist.

Hi there!

ivan@creativewriting.ca said...

anonymous,

The guy looks exactly like me.
But to hear him talk, he sounds black.
It all makes me think of a Woody Allen movie.
Or a BieloRussian bluegrass group.

Vake up, Vake up Darlin Gori
Vat make you sleep so sound
That NKVD is comin'
They gonna tear your still house down.


Sorry Jim. Couldn't resist.

Ivan