Thursday, November 23, 2017

White's Part 2 & Lennon

 I was hired for Christmas help at J.B. White's Department Store at the end of 1980.  My job was primarily working in Stationery as a sales associate, but I also helped in Housewares, Luggage, and Lamps.  That experience helped me further in life, when I worked at Belk and Rich's/Macy's, but those stories will come later.
 Stationery was pretty easy.  I just rang up cards all day and into the night.  Most of my hours were during the latter portions of the workdays.  The security guard came by my register one day and looked at me.  He said that I looked familiar.  I told him that I lived nearby and shopped at White's all the time.  I recognized him too.  He was the same guard who caught me shoplifting from that store 12 years before.  He had a great memory, but I never let on that I was the same guy.  That was a long time ago.
 On the morning of December 9th at 6am, my Mother woke me up and told me to cut on the radio.  I didn't have to be at work until much later, but I did as she said.  My radio was tuned to a NYC station, as I was listening to it the night before.  When I turned on the radio, I heard the news that John Lennon had been killed.  I was stunned.  A Beatle was dead!  How could this be?  I was in a fog the rest of that day and several days afterwards.  I grieved along with everyone else.  He was my favorite Beatle.  His solo music shaped many of my social beliefs.  I went into work, but I was on autopilot.  I couldn't be cheerful to customers.  It was as if I had lost a family member.  In retrospect, it was worse than losing a family member.
 A few weeks later, I was working one night with a bad cold.  I took some medicine that made me very groggy.  While ringing up two women with cards, I felt faint.  I excused myself and took about 5 steps and collapsed in the aisle of the store.  I tried to get up to get to the lamp stockroom.  My legs felt very rubbery.  I crawled the rest of the way to the stockroom.  The customers that I had left were complaining that I had left them in the middle of their transaction.  They were more concerned about their .79 cards than me.  When I finally got to the stockroom, I sat on some steps to try and get myself together.  My supervisor, who was the father of one of my youth friends from Kilbourne Park, got to me in the stockroom.  He told me to go home.  After feeling better, I called the next day to see when I was working again.  They never gave me hours, but they never terminated me either.  J.B. White's closed later on.  I guess they had to close to end my relationship with them.
 Back to Lennon.  In early 1981, I was scheduled to perform at a actor's showcase for the SC Arts Commission.  I was supposed to do my monologue of Hosea, but I changed it at the last meeting and did dramatic readings of 3 Lennon works--Imagine, Across the Universe, and In My Life.  It was very tough getting through the readings, because my emotions were still raw.  By making that choice, it cost me getting some acting jobs that year.  The Arts Commission wanted to see my talents, not my reading skills.
 I also wrote a one-person play on the day John Lennon died in NYC.  I wanted to use his music, and I wrote to Yoko Ono to see if she would give her permission for me to use that music.  She said no.  I ended up performing the play without the music a couple of times.  Yoko was nice to me by sending a cost price list of Lennon eyeglass frames that Eagle Eyewear produced.  The wait time in stores was 7 months at a price of around $200/each.  I got my 2 pair of frames for $30/each, and they came in less than 2 weeks.  It pays to know people.  Yoko and I had a friendly relationship for several years thanks to a mutual friend who paved the way for me to contact her.  Our friendship became strained years later due to a money problem I had, and she cut me off from being friends.  A couple of years ago, I had to write to her about the death of our mutual friend.  It was the hardest letter I have ever had to write.  She responded.  I hope she doesn't hate me anymore.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

2 Projects

 I was hired for two writing projects during 1980.  The first was from Epworth Children's Home.  They wanted me to write their annual report.  The second was from the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  They wanted me to write a play that would be presented in their annual meeting about the work they do.
 I met with the director of Epworth to get all of the material about their work during that year.  The director seemed nice.  I took all of the material home and got to work to compile it into one concise format.  I took the history of the institution and brought it forward to the current year.  I used charts and words to describe what it looked like.  When I finished, I brought it to Epworth's director, and he didn't like it.  He wanted a "pie chart".  He liked "pie charts", and he wanted a "pie chart".  I felt the report stood on its own without a "pie chart".  He insisted on having a "pie chart" or else I wouldn't be paid for my work.  So, I gave him a "pie chart", which did not fit in with the overall report.  He was happy and paid me.  I was not happy.  After all, I am an artist and a writer.  Not one to do "pie charts".
 The other project was for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  The idea was to have the workers at their office to play parts in the short play.  It needed to run between 15-20 minutes.  I got an idea to develop it around a game show format, because the play was to inform others about what the association does.  It was called "The Columbia Metro Show".  I had the association's director be the emcee, and the secretaries be the contestants.  I had to give each secretary a character, and I decided that the oldest of the three women would be the one who got everything wrong.  She was not pleased with her character, but she was a trooper and did it anyway.  The show was well received, and was actually done twice--in 1980 and then in 1981.  I was in the 1981 show, because the older lady said she would not repeat her character.  Some actors can be so temperamental.  That play opened me up to write and act in Stewardship Dramas for my church to promote giving.  One thing leads to another, except for "pie charts".

Friday, November 10, 2017

White Elephant Party

 I went to a White Elephant Party at my church around Christmas time in the early 80's.  If you don't know what that is, you bring unwanted stuff to the party and exchange them to others to try and get better stuff.  It can get interesting, because the other person can exchange their gift for something they like, and so on.
 One person brought an oil painting of Richard Nixon.  It was exchanged around until someone got it that actually wanted it.  I guess they were a fan of the former President.  I wanted it for a dart board, but that person found out and wanted it to keep me from using it in that way.  I don't remember what I ended up getting that night.
 When I got back home, I wrote a letter to Richard Nixon.  I lied and told him that I had gotten this painting of him, but it got stolen out of my car.  He sent me an autographed picture of him and Pat standing on the beach.  I thought that was nice that I had conned him out of an autograph.  I sold it years later.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Elton #2

 The second time I saw Elton John in concert was in Columbia in 1980.  I went with some friends I knew from my federal job.  We sat on the side facing Elton's piano.  I brought binoculars and had fun watching Elton's expressions as he interacted with his drummer, Nigel Olsson.  Somebody else brought some grass, and we listened to the music while getting stoned.  The show was great.  So was the pot.
 After the show, we went out to a bar in the St. Andrews area of Columbia.  We smoked more dope out in the parking lot.  I was a little scared, because we were outside and could be seen by police folks.  That was the last time I ever smoked the weed that was called "marijuana".  That was also the last time I saw most of those folks from my federal job.
 As an aside, the opening act for Elton was Judie Tzuke (spelling?).  She only did a few numbers, because people were shouting they wanted Elton.  I felt sorry for her.  She didn't have a good night.