Vending at The Naz.

I had pop and showcase machines in three Dorm buildings. One a mans dorm and two were womens dorms. There were also pop machines at the laundry building, the community center and a pop and showcase in the basement at the Administration house. After I started, we picked up another pop machine in the library and several in the Auditorium. I had storage cabinets in all but the library and Administration basement. Those two didn't require visits every day, but I didn't have as much to carry if I did them every day. I was promised a golf cart to get around campus, but it never materialized. I hauled pop in my car and used a dolly when there were several cases to haul. I tried to avoid carrying even one case very far.

A new account is always a problem till you can work out a routine. As you become familiar with the "normal usage" it becomes easier to order and take care of each area. So at first there may be a lot of hauling certain kinds of pop from one area to another.

And that led to my first accident at the college. Knox County is hilly. The college property is not flat and the land rolls with buildings on different levels. I was short on 7-Up in one of the girls dorms. At another dorm on higher ground, I found I had enough 7-Up to transfer. But, rather than drive back for one case, I decided I'd walk out the back door and down the hill to the first dorm. It was pretty close. We'd had a dusting of snow and I didn't make the "trip" in a very dignified manner. My feet went out from under me at the top of the hill and I sat down hard with the case of pop landing on my lap. Down the slope I slid on my butt. The worst part was that I had to yell for the kids down below (who never saw me coming) to clear the sidewalk at the bottom so I wouldn't knock them over. Look out below! Scrambling out of the way, they were vastly amused, and I was vastly embarrassed. Maybe I should have told them I did it on purpose. At least I had an easy and fast trip carrying that pop to the other building. No dignity left, but I wasn't hurt.

The second accident was even more embarrassing. I was filling a pop machine that following spring in one of the womens dorms. Anyone who handles aluminum cans knows how easy it is to puncture them. The insides of pop machines are treacherous with sharp edges. I often gave myself soda showers. (I blame my clumsyness on the A.V.M. in my head.) Once a can is punctured it sprays all over and you have to contain the spray quickly or the sticky mess it makes can cover a room. This time I found myself without a trash can near by and the only thing I could see was the open window beside the pop machine. I sat the can on the window ledge with the spray pointed toward the yard, and proceeded to dry myself off and clean up the mess. By the time that job was done, the can had quit spraying. I reached for it, knocked it over and made a mad grab for it, and tumbled right out the window with a bit of a screech. About three feet to the ground. Why couldn't it have happened when no one was around? Must be one of Murphy's Laws. It was our first early warm spring day and the yard was full of girls. Again, I had a big audience who was vastly amused. They helped me up and instead of walking around to the door, I decided what the heck. I climbed right back through the window and finished my work. My reputation on campus was set. I would have been in my early 40's by then. About the same age as the Mothers of most of those girls. Bet they never saw their own Mothers chase a pop can out of a window. And, I wasn't through with accidents at the college. The next one wasn't funny though.