Discouraged

This might be a good one to ignore. I feel like ranting. I had to go to the Dr. on April 9th for this sore throat and ear ache. Throat culture showed no bacterial infection and my Dr. didn't want to pump in anti-viral meds. again. That just makes the virus stronger. OK, I can agree to that. But, it's three weeks later and I'm still sick. I can't talk and my ears still hurt and those glands in my neck are tender. The coughing has eased up and I'm very grateful that it isn't constant any more, but I want some energy and to feel like a participating human again.

My birthday is getting close and I hadn't gotten the state tags for my car yet. I hate to leave things like that too late. With my luck something would happen to make me miss the deadline, and I don't need the hassle. So, late last week, I got myself up and ready and went to the license bureau. I had started to feel better and thought it was time to take care of business. I got there before the crowd and didn't have to wait too long. The man who took his number in front of me was called and I knew I'd be next. But, they skipped my number and called the one after me. I had to use my raspy voice to call out "excuse me" and tell them they skipped a number. No problem, they took me next. But, it made my throat hurt again.

Since I'd gotten through so quickly, I decided to stop at the grocery. I hadn't been out all month and needed things. Poor Bear has had to keep up with those common needs like bread and milk, etc. At the grocery store I managed to avoid the crowds too. So there were just three of us in the isle when I found I couldn't reach something way back on a high shelf. I knew the other ladies couldn't help me and I was getting tired and didn't feel like walking around looking for help. I waited a bit. I tried to stand on the end of my cart to reach. I finally gave up and knew I had to look for help. But, hooray, here comes a young man down the isle. I tried to call out to him with my raspy voice, but almost lost him when he started to turn away down that middle section. I yelled again. (OUCH) He looked up with that "who me?" expression, but came on over to help me. I croaked out what I needed and he was wonderful. He got it without any trouble at all and took off as I thanked him. I started to push my cart and there was something blocking it. His fingerlesstip driving glove was under the wheel. He'd carried a motorcycle helmet with the gloves tucked inside. I shouted for him just as he rounded the bend to disappear. He stopped again and looked back. No words this time, I just held up his glove. He came back and I told him I was sorry for the trouble and very grateful for his help. I finished my shopping and came home totally exhausted. I didn't even put everything away. Just the fridge stuff, then I went in to lie down. The next morning I was totally down sick again. This has been the pattern now for almost a year. Just as I start to feel human again, it starts over.

At least the weather has finally turned springlike. Temp's in the 60's with some sun. But, I'm afraid the freeze has ruined the flowering trees and shrubs in our yard. They look terrible. I hope they haven't suffered a more permanent damage. Our crabapple trees aren't showing healthy leaf form. The new leaves are curled and brown on the edges. And the lilac is showing a lot of dead branches. They were always a cloud of color each spring. Not this year. Which doesn't do a darned thing to help my mood this year.


They are talking about rain later today, so I think I will go sit on my deck swing and soak up some warmth before the headache starts to get worse again.

RANT OVER.

Spring 2007

Once again I'm going to interrupt the past because of the present. I'm waiting for the results of a throat culture after another Doctor visit, and I'm ready to make this official announcement. (It's official because I say so.) I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! It's now been very close to a year since I broke my wrist and ended up with Mono. There has been one infection after another this whole past year. I can't seem to get my strength back and I catch every bug around. Even when no one else around me has it. This last one has caused spastic coughing that feels like I'm turning inside out. Everything hurts. All those muscles that get involved in a deep belly cough, are screaming. The coughs were almost constant for 4 or 5 days. I'm just beginning to see a bit of a break in them, but once again (still) I'm exhausted.

And this years unusual Ohio spring weather isn't helping. Seven snows since the forsythia bloomed. Every night the temperatures drops to or below freezing. All the new green is shriveling on the trees and plants. The spring flowers turned brown before they were even fully open. There's a thunderstorm out there right now and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. But, I'll get over it. I always do. (Till the next time.)

They called him Zero

Isn't there a character in every group? I never in my life met anyone more deserving of being called a character then the man they called Zero. He was the kind of man who always had a big smile on his face. Even when he did something really stupid and was being yelled at. Of all things, he was a maintenance man. Some of the following stories about his doings are funny and some are pure gross.

Most of the time, Zero worked the second shift, but he was around enough days for me to get to know him. And I usually saw him when I had to go back in the evening. He wasn't really stupid, but he sure did a lot of stupid things. Like one winter morning after he'd worked 3rd. His shift was over and everyones car windows were covered with ice. The others were out there scraping windows before leaving when Zero went to his car with a bucket full of water he'd boiled. He threw it on his front windshield and the glass shattered. Nothing ever fazed Zero. He just threw down the bucket, climbed in his car with the broken glass and water turned to ice and drove off. It was all anyone talked about when they came into my canteen. But, that story doesn't end there. He got his window fixed and later that same winter they went out again to find ice on their windows. This time he was on 2nd shift and it was just after 11pm. Zero headed back into the factory and the group still outside was taking bets about whether he was dumb enough to do it again. He wasn't. This time he went back to his car with an arm load of newspapers. He spread them out on the glass and set them on fire. Another broken windshield. This time he didn't get it fixed. He said if there wasn't any glass, it couldn't ice over and he could see better. He drove the rest of that winter without a front windshield.

Zero was working nights when the drinking fountain just outside my storeroom door started backing up. (Did they keep switching his shifts so the same folks didn't have to deal with him all the time?) He was assigned the task of clearing it so the water would drain again. When he couldn't get it clear with the drain cleaner they usually poured in it, he went looking for another solution. He didn't wait, or give it time to work or try again. He got one of the high pressure air gizmo's they used to blow some of the machines clean, and he blew it through the water fountain. It worked, the water was draining again. But, it never occurred to Zero to wonder where that blockage went. The closest opening in that water line was the sink in my storeroom.

I got to work that morning and unlocked my storeroom door. The stench hit me before I could even turn on the light. My first thought was dead rats, but how could it have smelled so bad just between the time I'd left till I came back. I flipped on the light and back peddled, gagging and trying not to puke. The walls around my sink were dripping with the worst black shiny, slimy, thick, moldy, yucky, gooey, stinky black gunk I'd ever come across. All the way up to the 14 foot ceiling. The cleaning supplies I kept on the shelves over the sink were covered with it. It was on the side of my freezer and puddled on the floor. It looked like someone had exploded a bomb of black slime. And the smell!!!!! Thank goodness it shot straight up from the sink and none of the food stored on the other side of the long room was even near any of the mess. Maintenance and a janitor and I spent a couple of hours taking everything out of the room and then they hosed the whole room down and sprayed it with bleach. I didn't think Zero was so funny after that.

Zero was one of those men who could take apart any machine and put it back together. But, he didn't think things through to a logical conclusion. His hobby was steam engines. Show him a picture and he could build a small working model of any steam engine with parts he found where ever, never intended for what he used them for. He would bolt his little steam engines to a trailer and display them at farm shows and fairs and festivals. They all steamed and whistled and moved and they always drew a crowd.

Folks at A.N.C. loved to tell about the time he decided to build a small cannon. Zero lived out in the country where a group of houses clustered on both sides of a main highway. You might not call it a village, but it had a Church and a small Ma & Pa kind of store/gas station and it has a name. Though you won't find it on any state map. I don't know what his neighbors thought of him, but I bet it would be interesting to hear. Zero built his cannon and proceeded to test it. He shot his cannon ball through the stained glass window in the Church next door.

Then there were the stories that really grossed me out. When we had our special dinners, I always made sure that I served Zero myself. The others could help themselves, but no one wanted to be in line behind Zero. I learned that early on when they came to me and complained because Zero used a dirty screw driver to cut himself a piece of one of the retirement cakes. We all saw him pick up things off the factory floor and eat them. So everyone else knew why I always served Zero......except Zero. The man thought I had a crush on him!!! I was teased about it till I threatened to stop serving him. That shut them up.

If you are squeamish, you may want to skip this next bit. I also suggest you put down anything you are eating or drinking. The janitor came into my canteen one day looking absolutely green. He had been cleaning the mens restroom while Zero worked on a blocked toilet.....with his hands. The janitor said Zero's false teeth fell out, dropped in the stool and Zero just fished them out and put them right back in his mouth. I can't even say I was surprised. His teeth didn't fit well and they were always falling out. I'd seen him myself, pick them up with filthy hands and plop them right back in. Nothing fazed Zero. But, he gave everyone plenty to talk about. After that though, I preferred not to hear the stories. Believe me, there is no way I could have made this up.

By The Way. Once A.N.C. closed it's doors, Zero got a job in the same factory where Bear was working. They sent him out one day to fix a tractor that was leaking gas. Zero used a blow torch on it and set the tractor on fire. His new employers found a lie on his job application, and he was let go. I have no idea where he is today.

Over 40 Hours Part Time

I'd been an A.V.I. Vending Attendant over a dozen years when I took on the A.N.C. account. But, this was nothing like what I'd been doing. The caterings they added to my job weren't technically caterings. I didn't fix or serve the food. At first the A.N.C. office ordered from the local Deli or a restaurant, and then I had to stop whatever I was doing to go pick it up and set it up in one of the companies conference rooms. Then I could return to finish my work while they served themselves. Somehow that evolved into my being the one to order the food also. It was just a lot of interruptions that had me juggling my vending work to get everything done. It was watching the clock and deciding if I had time for a task before I had to leave and pick up lunch for the office. At first I was interrupted again to clean up after them. (They often didn't finish till long after my quitting time.) The Boss's secretary took pity on me and took on that task herself. About the same time she quit ordering and left that to me. And, it was using my own car to pick up for them that got annoying.

Then there were the cakes. A lot of employees were old timers and there was a steady stream of retirements. A.N.C. bought cakes for the whole factory each time someone retired. One for each area and each shift. To make that more complicated, most of the factory was on 8 hour shifts, but one department was on a 12 hour shift. So instead of delivering cakes on three shifts, I had to pick up and return cakes 5 times. I couldn't pick up the cakes all at once, because no car will carry all those cakes. One area times two shifts, and three areas times three shifts. After I got to know the supervisors, I was able to talk them into letting me leave the night shift cakes in their offices so I didn't have to go back at 2 AM and 4 AM. That was just above and beyond the call of duty for any part time job!!! The cakes I always knew about ahead of time. But I never knew about the caterings till the canteen phone rang with an order for that day or the next. Gradually I was able to slide into some semblance of a routine, but that job kept me on my toes and no two days were ever alike.

I'm a very conscientious worker, but my conscience was fine with adding an hour (or two) a week for the use of my own vehicle. It probably cost me more than that. Especially picking up all those cakes. I could never get more than 3 full sheet cakes in a car at a time. The evening and night shifts only needed half sheet cakes. They were lighter and could be stacked two high, but it still took two trips. (You should have seen some of the looks I got at the grocery store when we wheeled out all those big cakes.) During that 9 years at A.N.C., I even bought a car with those cakes in mind.

On top of all that, my vending company "thanked'' the factory for their business with 2 or 3 specials a year. It could be submarine sandwiches, or sloppy joes/shredded chicken, or ice cream or something else. And guess who got to serve all 5 shifts on those occasions? (OK, my supervisors did show up to help on the day meal in the main canteen. But I was on my own for the other shifts.) I remember one "special" where they brought in a truckload of watermelons and musk melons. All at once. And left them on every surface of my storeroom, including the floor. I had to manage my regular job with the machines, (around all those melons in the way) and cut and serve melons for two days. It was even worse then the bright idea of having me serve ice cream sundaes. I set those up, kept the ice cream and supplies coming, and let them make their own! Thank goodness for my sense of humor and the wonderful people at A.N.C. who always pitched in and helped me with the "specials." Despite the stress and upheavel, it was usually party time fun.

The Factory

A.N.C. was (literally "was", it's all gone now) a huge old three story building. There were "clean rooms" because of the product, but much of the space was unused. Things had accumulated and old machines and parts were scattered all over the building in unused areas. I got to explore the third floor once. It had been a Lab and Photo Copy area at one time. Then the Lab was moved to an area more or less over the offices. On a split level, over the offices but a set of stairs lower then the floor above the factory. Another time there was a fire across town and they took me up on the roof to watch it. On the other extreme, there were tunnels under the building. But they were full of roaches and river rats and no one ever talked me into going down there. The factory was on the northwest side of town, near the Kokosing River. The factory left town and everything was torn down. and the city wants to turn the area into another city park. But there is a problem with contamination in the soil and a fight about who is responsible for cleanup. There were around 150 employees in the factory when I was there, plus the folks in the office. That was less then a third of what had been there in the hayday of production.

A.N.C. stands for American National Can, but they didn't make cans in our plant. They formed and printed flexible packaging for food and other products. Everything from the little individual jelly packs you get at the diner to the printed plastic that toilet paper is packaged in and the plastic bags that fit in baby bottles. That's about all I know about their production. My job took me all over the factory but kept me too busy to actually watch how things were done.

My machines were in three separate canteens. A main canteen where my storage was, and where I spent most of my time, and two other smaller lunch rooms. Plus too many canned pop machines, that were scattered around the building. I was eventually able to eliminate the ones nearest the lunch rooms. But one of the pop machines was in the Ink House. A separate building where flammable and explosive solvents and inks were stored. The first time they took me over to show me the location of that machine I was given a warning. If the alarm ever went off while I was there, I was told to drop everything and run. And don't stop running till the explosion knocked me down. (Even in the rest of the factory that alarm meant "Run in the direction away from the Ink House.") How's that for an introduction to my new account? The Ink House was separate but connected to the factory by a cat walk. No roof, I still had to go outside, but the cat walk was only a covered loading dock and then a railroad track wide. I only had to fill that machine once or twice a month. No one wanted to spend more time there then they had to. Even the fumes burned my eyes and throat. In fact, I had more trouble with expired dates then I did with keeping it full. That was another company policy that made no sense. The machine should have been kept half full. But, I wasn't allowed to do that. I did manage to get the other machines with the same problem that were scattered over the factory pulled out eventually. When anyone complained about having to walk further, I asked them if they'd rather walk or end up with old pop. As long as they knew the reason, most of them accepted the removal.

Besides the main canteen, which was pretty much centered in the building , there were two other lunch rooms for my machines. One at the back of the factory in the Laminating Area, and one on a second floor in the Playtex Area. Both of those had coffee, canned pop, showcase and cold food, plus the micro waves. They did have to be filled and cleaned each day. In the main canteen, I had those machines plus a canned juice, hot canned soup, a second pop machine, a second coffee machine and a second cold food for milk and fruit. My hours went to six a day, from 6 am. till noon. Actually filling and cleaning machines didn't take as long as the paper work.

Officially, six hours a day. But, the vending company had signed a contract with A.N.C. to provide catering's for office V.I.P. visitors, and to set out retirement cakes for each department and each shift. I was expected to do that job too. I was returning to A.N.C. at all hours of the day and night. I was always over 40 hours a week and I remember one week where I turned in 62 hours. No wonder every other attendant had left before I showed up. That isn't a part time job, that's a career. Since I've never been able to sleep anyway, it was my career, till A.N.C. left Mount Vernon about 9 years later.

Saving A.N.C.

Imagine what it's like to be a stranger in a new situation when everyone is mad at you, and none of it was your fault. That's what going into my first factory was like. I was in my early forties, so I had enough maturity not to take it personally. Still those first few months were rough. I was just too stubborn to give up. But, there were a lot of days I came home and cried. To make matters worse, my own company wasn't helping. I was getting flack from both sides. It was mostly the waste issue again with my company. In a new account, you haven't yet learned what your customers like or want. I ordered a large assortment of sandwiches and micro waveable food to learn what would be accepted and what I shouldn't order again. Once I learned that, the waste came in line again. Meanwhile, my bosses wouldn't back off. I ignored the bosses and concentrated on my customers and giving service that would save the account. There were a few confrontations between me and the current supervisor that some of the A.N.C. employees were witness to. And that helped me enormously. Word spread that I was willing to lose my job in order to give them better service. Gradually I gathered supporters who felt I was on their side. Once word spread that I knew what I was doing and they discovered their machines were full AND WORKING, and all lost money was returned without question; (That's a trust issue. I'm sure at first I gave back money that wasn't "lost".) things got a lot easier. Some of the selections I dropped because of waste were requested by some of the workers. So I would order one or two especially for them. So everyone started telling me what they wanted, and most of the time I was able to help them. They felt special and I didn't have to worry about throwing something away. I made friends.

But one of my bosses, (one of those more chiefs then Indians situations) criticized me for "spoiling those people." I'll never forget it, she left me speechless. They put me there to "save the account" and then told me not to spoil our customers??? My company was also upset because I left out small dispensers (that I bought) of creamer and sugar for those who didn't think the machine gave them enough. I did keep them filled with company produce. (At first people will take advantage, but once they know you, they behave.) I also bought toothpicks and matches with my own money. I talked some of the customers into contributing, and we bought a toaster for everyone to use. Some things just aren't as good in a micro wave. In other words, I saved the account by setting a level of service that made my customers happy. (And made me feel good!!)

Did the vending company ever thank me? Of course not. Management no longer thinks like that. I remember when they did, and I still believe it's the best policy. The only acknowledgment I got was that the criticism didn't lead to being fired. And we had a few pretty heated go rounds. I was just so sure I was doing the right thing, and since I'd never known them to fire anyone, I didn't back down. The customer came first and company policy was second. I must have had a reputation with my company, but I outlasted every supervisor and boss who tried to change me. (I'm not taking credit for that, it was just that industry turnover thing and my own stubbornness in refusing to quit .) The vending company couldn't do too much about it. A.N.C. let them know that if I left...the machines left.

OH, sweet power. I was my own boss. Well.....not quite.

"Popped" On The Head

There was a big turnover in employees in the vending business. It's probably the same in any part time job. So I couldn't understand why they were keeping me at the college account. All I got was excuses when I asked my supervisor about letting me have a different account. (I believe she was afraid she'd have to work it if I left before school was out.) When you work independently like that, your supervisor and sometimes the delivery man are your only sources of information about other accounts and who's coming or going. I didn't see either one for days or weeks at a time. But, I asked my supervisor to move me every time she couldn't avoid seeing me.

Then there was another incident that made me so angry that I phoned the office, yelling threats all the way up to the District Manager. It involved a delivery man who was sent to cover our regular driver when he on vacation for a week. The young blankity blank they put on our route didn't want this route, and he took his displeasure out on the vending attendants. He booby trapped our storage machines, (every one where an attendant wasn't present when he delivered) so that things fell all over when we opened the doors. The first day several girls phoned headquarters to complain. I was among them, without knowing of the other calls. The second time he delivered, I opened my storage and a 6 pack hit me on top on my head and I went ballistic. The top of the storage was for chips. Pop was suppose to be put away below. He set that up deliberately. Since I'd already complained about his methods, this time I let the BIG BOSS know that I wanted to see a lawyer about a law suit. I'd phoned immediately, the pop was still on the floor and my head and shoulder throbbed where I'd been hit. They promised to move him back to his own route in another city and that I'd never see him again. Later I learned that everyone in our area had threatened to quit if he came back. A maintenance man had to deliver our route the rest of the week. Why on earth didn't they fire him? He pulled that stunt on several of us and he was rewarded with the route he wanted in the first place.

My supervisor made her rounds trying to calm all her girls down and when she got to me; I told her I would be quitting if she didn't find me another account under one roof. I gave her a deadline and I was prepared to follow through. It was amazing how fast they finally managed to come up with a new job for me. (Man....if I'd gone through with a law suit every time I could have, would I be in this situation now?) ((At least my conscience is clear.))

Later on I learned the timing was coincidental. They'd already decided to put me at A.N.C. The large factory had gone through many attendants in the year since we'd gotten the account and if they couldn't get someone in there to make the customers happy, they were on the edge of losing the account. But I didn't know that right away. I was only aware that I was getting an account under one roof, (almost) with a huge storage room and my own sink, freezer, cooler and a large four wheel dolly to haul things on. I was not aware the I was about to be fed to a mass of angry humanity. Those poor workers had had enough. They wanted the account out of there and one more attendant after so many didn't make them happy. I was walking into the challenge of my life.