In 1998, a friend of mine named Stuart was the Minister of Music at Park Street Baptist Church in Columbia. He called me one day and asked if I would act in an Easter Musical with Drama that he was directing at his church. I agreed and asked him when they would be presenting it. He told me it would be put on the following week. He said the part I would play was the leper who was healed by Jesus. I went by the church and picked up a tape of my part, as well as a script. The part was about a page long and easy to memorize. I listened to the tape in my car as I went from Columbia to Laurens to visit my parents and then back home. The production was called "The Christ, The Cross, The Crown."
I had two rehearsals with the cast and choir before the presentation. I realized, after the first rehearsal, that I was far better as an actor than anyone else in it. I seemed even better than the actor they had playing Jesus, which made me very uncomfortable. I went to Stuart and asked him if I should tone down my part to meet the level of the other actors. He said no. I should raise them up to my level. So, I did what he asked. I met with some of the actors and gave them pointers how to do better. The guy playing Jesus said he didn't need help. I left him alone.
The production also had an orchestra which sat just below the stage. There was one place in my monologue where I would spit. I told the woman below me in the orchestra that it was going to happen, and that she needed to prepare for it. She told me she would be fine with it, but when I did during the rehearsal, she wasn't prepared for it. When we ran through it again, she started to crouch down right before I did it. Stuart told her not to do that, so she moved her chair slightly to the right and missed my spew. Problem solved.
Another issue was backstage. One part of my training as an actor has been to do exercises before coming on stage. One reason for this is to get my voice ready. Another is to get my muscles limber. And a third reason is to get my energy level up. So, I was in a hallway behind the sanctuary doing my exercises. One elderly choir member saw me doing this stuff, and she went horrified to Stuart. She asked him if I was a Pentecostal person, because I was making weird noises and jumping around. He had to explain to her that I was just getting ready to go on, and that I was a good Baptist. Not to put down Pentecostal folks, but she was worried that I was going to speak in tongues during the program. I didn't.
The program went well. Many people came, including my friends The Stones from St. Matthews. I got a lot of praise for my role. I was glad to do it for my friend.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Lamps
After the TV Department at Rich's closed up, I was moved to a full-time sales position in the Lamp Department. We sold table and floor lamps, as well as mirrors. I knew nothing about lamps, except how to turn them on and off and how to change a bulb. There was a guy working part-time there named John, and he helped me out a lot. I learned about finials and harps. I learned about wattage and shades. I also learned about resin and brass. Just about everything in the world of Lamps.
We did special orders for the wall mirrors, because they were way to big to store in our stock room, and very heavy. I had been used to just picking up the phone and calling a corporate honcho to get things on special order. It stemmed from my days as a buyer at Belk. It carried over to my time in TV's. I had a supervisor in Lamps who didn't like me going over her head to order mirrors. In fact, she made it perfectly clear that there was a chain of command in that store. I would sell the mirrors, but she would have to be the one making the call to the honchos. I knew all the honchos, and I also knew that doing it myself would mean the customer getting their order quicker. After all, my supervisor was over several departments, and her time was at a premium. Our store manager joked that my supervisor had my footprint on her head. I finally had to relent and do what she said. She also wore shoes that clomped when she walked, so you could hear her coming a mile away. She was always impressed that her associates were always working when she saw us. We goofed off when we didn't hear the clomping heels.
One day, I was going to move some floor lamps from one display fixture to another. We used power strips to plug in the lamps. One plug would not come out of the strip. So, I turned off the lamp and turned off the strip. I got a pair of scissors to dig the plug out of the strip. I thought the electricity had been cut off from the strip, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!. There was a boom, and I was blown across the aisle. My hair stood up, and my heart was fluttering. I blew a fuse out. I still have the scissors. There is a burned notch out of one side of the steel. I never did that again.
One thing I had learned in retail was to develop friendships with other stores that sold your product. That way, if I didn't have something that a customer was looking for then I would refer them to another store. And, those stores would do the same for me. Along about six months into my working in our Lamp Department, I was told that I had received a sales award. My department was the number one Lamp Department in the entire Rich's organization of 70 stores in sales. I got $100 and my choice of a free lamp. I chose a Dale Tiffany lamp that had flowers and butterflies on it. It was a big deal for me and the store.
I was riding high, when I got a new supervisor. When I met her, she was looking at my department and said, "This place looks like S**T! I was shocked that she would say that. Surely, she had heard about my success. Apparently not. During this time, our store formed a bowling league. I signed up. I wasn't very good, until I started imagining my new supervisor's face on the bowling pins. I started rolling strikes. She helped me game and our team immensely.
Another six months passed, and it was announced that I once again had the best Lamp Department in the entire Rich's company. I got another $100 and my choice of another lamp. I chose a basic table lamp this time. I ended up giving it away to my neighbor. My success in selling really impressed my bosses. So much that they moved me to another department. The Lamp business died.
We did special orders for the wall mirrors, because they were way to big to store in our stock room, and very heavy. I had been used to just picking up the phone and calling a corporate honcho to get things on special order. It stemmed from my days as a buyer at Belk. It carried over to my time in TV's. I had a supervisor in Lamps who didn't like me going over her head to order mirrors. In fact, she made it perfectly clear that there was a chain of command in that store. I would sell the mirrors, but she would have to be the one making the call to the honchos. I knew all the honchos, and I also knew that doing it myself would mean the customer getting their order quicker. After all, my supervisor was over several departments, and her time was at a premium. Our store manager joked that my supervisor had my footprint on her head. I finally had to relent and do what she said. She also wore shoes that clomped when she walked, so you could hear her coming a mile away. She was always impressed that her associates were always working when she saw us. We goofed off when we didn't hear the clomping heels.
One day, I was going to move some floor lamps from one display fixture to another. We used power strips to plug in the lamps. One plug would not come out of the strip. So, I turned off the lamp and turned off the strip. I got a pair of scissors to dig the plug out of the strip. I thought the electricity had been cut off from the strip, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!. There was a boom, and I was blown across the aisle. My hair stood up, and my heart was fluttering. I blew a fuse out. I still have the scissors. There is a burned notch out of one side of the steel. I never did that again.
One thing I had learned in retail was to develop friendships with other stores that sold your product. That way, if I didn't have something that a customer was looking for then I would refer them to another store. And, those stores would do the same for me. Along about six months into my working in our Lamp Department, I was told that I had received a sales award. My department was the number one Lamp Department in the entire Rich's organization of 70 stores in sales. I got $100 and my choice of a free lamp. I chose a Dale Tiffany lamp that had flowers and butterflies on it. It was a big deal for me and the store.
I was riding high, when I got a new supervisor. When I met her, she was looking at my department and said, "This place looks like S**T! I was shocked that she would say that. Surely, she had heard about my success. Apparently not. During this time, our store formed a bowling league. I signed up. I wasn't very good, until I started imagining my new supervisor's face on the bowling pins. I started rolling strikes. She helped me game and our team immensely.
Another six months passed, and it was announced that I once again had the best Lamp Department in the entire Rich's company. I got another $100 and my choice of another lamp. I chose a basic table lamp this time. I ended up giving it away to my neighbor. My success in selling really impressed my bosses. So much that they moved me to another department. The Lamp business died.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Slim Fast
A friend of mine at work had a husband who was dying. When he passed on, she gave me a case of Ensure that the hospital had given him, which he never used. I had not had any Ensure before, but I started in on the case drinking one just before bed. I started feeling better. After all, I was the king of junk food and fast food. Neither of which was very nutritious, so the Ensure helped with counterbalancing my choices in food.
So to this day, I drink an Ensure or an equivalent product before bedtime. I let the vitamins and minerals swim around my body, while I sleep. I drank Boost for a while, but I found it hard to get into the drink because of that foil at the top. The downside to doing this is the cost. Ensure generally costs around $8 for a six-pack. The generic form is usually $2 cheaper.
I was talking one day to a friend at work about Ensure, and he told me that he did the same thing, except he used Slim Fast. He said it had all of the vitamins and minerals as Ensure, but it was cheaper. So, I went into Food Lion one night after I got off work and bought a case of Slim Fast. As I took it up to the register to pay, the cashier looked at me and then at the Slim Fast. Again, she looked at me and then at the Slim Fast. I realized she was wondering why a thin person was buying Slim Fast, so in a straight face I told her, "This stuff really works!". I paid for it and started out the door. I turned around to see the cashier pointing at me and talking to her fellow employees. They had their mouths open.
Maybe I encouraged some of them to try Slim Fast. I would like to think so, because some of them needed to. At least, I would like to think that the cashier has told that story to her friends and relatives for the last 20 years. I took it home, but I really didn't care for the taste, so I went back to Ensure.
So to this day, I drink an Ensure or an equivalent product before bedtime. I let the vitamins and minerals swim around my body, while I sleep. I drank Boost for a while, but I found it hard to get into the drink because of that foil at the top. The downside to doing this is the cost. Ensure generally costs around $8 for a six-pack. The generic form is usually $2 cheaper.
I was talking one day to a friend at work about Ensure, and he told me that he did the same thing, except he used Slim Fast. He said it had all of the vitamins and minerals as Ensure, but it was cheaper. So, I went into Food Lion one night after I got off work and bought a case of Slim Fast. As I took it up to the register to pay, the cashier looked at me and then at the Slim Fast. Again, she looked at me and then at the Slim Fast. I realized she was wondering why a thin person was buying Slim Fast, so in a straight face I told her, "This stuff really works!". I paid for it and started out the door. I turned around to see the cashier pointing at me and talking to her fellow employees. They had their mouths open.
Maybe I encouraged some of them to try Slim Fast. I would like to think so, because some of them needed to. At least, I would like to think that the cashier has told that story to her friends and relatives for the last 20 years. I took it home, but I really didn't care for the taste, so I went back to Ensure.
Saturday, May 4, 2019
WebTV
When I worked in the TV Department at Rich's, they wanted us to sell a new item called WebTV. It was an internet device that would attach to your TV, and you could surf the web. It used a wireless keyboard, so you could sit in your recliner and check out the internet without any wires. Today, we have broadband, and we use a wireless mouse from a USB port, but back then it was a dial-up device. Consequently, it could be a bit slow at times. And, it had no hard drive, so there was no downloading. You could attach a printer, if you wanted to save anything. You couldn't upload anything either.
They gave us a sample device to show in the store. It had been modified with parental controls, so we could not show any adult content. One thing that I liked to do was to find live webcams from around the world. One site in particular was on the border between Finland and Russia. We watched trucks cross that border in the snow in real time. That was cool. We also found webcams on college campuses and could see students walk around. There were customers who tried to find adult material, but that was blocked. However, we found a way around the blocking. Typing in "Pamela Anderson" into the search line brought up some stuff that the parental controls did not block. It was not something we shared with the customers.
WebTV also had email capability, so we could email friends from work. Not that we did (in case any of my former supervisors are reading this). I fell in love with WebTV, so I bought one and took it home. It became my internet surfer of choice. I already had a Compaq dial-up computer, which I mainly used to play games and use AOL to chat with folks, but WebTV worked for all of tasks I would do on the internet. I would sell stuff on eBay, but since you couldn't upload pictures, I would have to leave that blank on my listings. I would try to describe my items in great detail, so the buyer wouldn't be disappointed when they bought something. That worked well.
I used WebTV for about 10 years, until I broke down and bought a laptop. Cable internet and wi-fi became the norm. Dial-up became out of date. Now, many TV's have streaming services on them. WebTV was the father of all the stuff we have now. 20 years ago seems a lifetime ago in the tech world. It is.
They gave us a sample device to show in the store. It had been modified with parental controls, so we could not show any adult content. One thing that I liked to do was to find live webcams from around the world. One site in particular was on the border between Finland and Russia. We watched trucks cross that border in the snow in real time. That was cool. We also found webcams on college campuses and could see students walk around. There were customers who tried to find adult material, but that was blocked. However, we found a way around the blocking. Typing in "Pamela Anderson" into the search line brought up some stuff that the parental controls did not block. It was not something we shared with the customers.
WebTV also had email capability, so we could email friends from work. Not that we did (in case any of my former supervisors are reading this). I fell in love with WebTV, so I bought one and took it home. It became my internet surfer of choice. I already had a Compaq dial-up computer, which I mainly used to play games and use AOL to chat with folks, but WebTV worked for all of tasks I would do on the internet. I would sell stuff on eBay, but since you couldn't upload pictures, I would have to leave that blank on my listings. I would try to describe my items in great detail, so the buyer wouldn't be disappointed when they bought something. That worked well.
I used WebTV for about 10 years, until I broke down and bought a laptop. Cable internet and wi-fi became the norm. Dial-up became out of date. Now, many TV's have streaming services on them. WebTV was the father of all the stuff we have now. 20 years ago seems a lifetime ago in the tech world. It is.
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