Grandpa, tell me bout the good ole days............

[Maxify55]

When I grew up in Orlando, we only wore shoes on Sunday for church and school days.
I used to sit in what is now the Citrus Bowl when it was called the Tinker Bowl and made of wood.
Could watch the upstart Twins play spring training ball all day for a quarter.
Barefoot in the wooden bleachers sipping an Orange Nehi or if'n we had the extra money, we'd spring for the Orange Crush.
Lived in a rented home 1/2 block from a lake. Summertime we lived either in or on that lake swimmin' and fishin'.
Pool? Who needs a concrete pond?
As Olde Jeb & Granny called theirs.
Was in 8th grade when JFK got hit.
We went through all the missile drills.
We were SURE Russia was gonna get us first. As we were closest to Cuba down here.

 

[user.69169]

De Nehi was in 6½ ounce bottles just like real Coke back den, more soda in Orange Crush brown bottle. Liked grape Nehi better den orange when got lucky and had de Nickle to buy one. Storekeeper kept in meat locker and you sat on porch drinkin so he get bottle back. You want to take bottle away 2¢ extra. Not sure if drink or cold was best part. Usually had to split wid brother or sister.

Had to go to meeting bout company plan fer what we do when tanks arrive from Cuba. Company rented movie house & BIG suit came to talk on PA system. Company gonna Mimeograph instructions how different jobs should do to survive. Listened to plan and suit ask if anybody got questions. Well, yes, how far North you figure dem tanks gonna get cause I figure dey run out of fuel before dey get past Cubano run stations in Florida and Cubanos beat dem dead before dey fuel Russian tank cash or no cash. Suit not like dat question, thought bout firing (removed) right der on spot. Had quick conference wid other suits and said meeting over. (removed) not fired. Never saw any Mimeograph either.

Learned years later CIA guys blew dat call. Russians got Kennedy to pull US rockets out of Turkey tho. Pretty much government as usual.

Kennedy shot, world stopped for half hour. Phones all stop working fer maybe 15 minutes. I'm in yard waiting for answer on raise I asked for dat morning, suits having discussion. Go back in office everybody cryin or lookin like dey got beat wid ball bat. Somebody says Kennedy shot. Radio say he dead. Big gasp all around, somebody says what we do now? I say Johnson President we do what he says. Must have been wrong answer cause 10 minutes later (removed) paid off and headed down road. Unemployed fer 4 days till hire on wid different company. Like new boss said, sometimes man not appreciated where he is.

 

[Whidbey]

De Nehi was in 6ｽ ounce bottles just like real Coke back den, more soda in Orange Crush brown bottle. Liked grape Nehi better den orange when got lucky and had de Nickle to buy one. Storekeeper kept in meat locker and you sat on porch drinkin so he get bottle back. You want to take bottle away 2｢ extra. Not sure if drink or cold was best part. Usually had to split wid brother or sister.

Had to go to meeting bout company plan fer what we do when tanks arrive from Cuba. Company rented movie house & BIG suit came to talk on PA system. Company gonna Mimeograph instructions how different jobs should do to survive. Listened to plan and suit ask if anybody got questions. Well, yes, how far North you figure dem tanks gonna get cause I figure dey run out of fuel before dey get past Cubano run stations in Florida and Cubanos beat dem dead before dey fuel Russian tank cash or no cash. Suit not like dat question, thought bout firing (removed) right der on spot. Had quick conference wid other suits and said meeting over. (removed) not fired. Never saw any Mimeograph either.

Learned years later CIA guys blew dat call. Russians got Kennedy to pull US rockets out of Turkey tho. Pretty much government as usual.

Kennedy shot, world stopped for half hour. Phones all stop working fer maybe 15 minutes. I'm in yard waiting for answer on raise I asked for dat morning, suits having discussion. Go back in office everybody cryin or lookin like dey got beat wid ball bat. Somebody says Kennedy shot. Radio say he dead. Big gasp all around, somebody says what we do now? I say Johnson President we do what he says. Must have been wrong answer cause 10 minutes later (removed) paid off and headed down road. Unemployed fer 4 days till hire on wid different company. Like new boss said, sometimes man not appreciated where he is.

Yes, those cuban exiles are not supportive of communists. Also as far as getting fired, honesty is not always the best policy

 

[user.69169]

Yes, those cuban exiles are not supportive of communists. Also as far as getting fired, honesty is not always the best policy

Been fired few times, true to tell guy fired me always did me favor. Newguy I went to work for had left same place, gave me his new business card when he left and told me sometimes people not appreciated where dey are. Next best part was guy who fired me called and wanted me to come back. Seemed job I was on when fire was not moving along after (removed) gone. Wound up finishing job at new place wid nice bonus. Old boss busted out few years later. I stopped by to congratulate him. Went to bank auction to walk thru house he lost too.

Worked for another fellow who gave out Christmas bonus one time, card for free dinner at 'upscale' restaurant his wife owned. We all know he letting her stick profits into her restaurant. He would have been man and said guys I screwed up and got no Christmas cash might have been some grumbling, but everybody understand about wives. Instead he give us card. OK, guys got together, rented bus and rounded up winos for 'upscale' dinner. Dat woman blew her cool all de way when winos roll in. She even call Sheriff, other customers walking out. Sheriff tells her she gotta honor de free meal cards. Dumb woman could have easy got rid of winos by giving dem bottles from bar, instead she destroyed business. Divorce was real funny to watch.

 

[tallyho8]

The first REAL job I had when I was 20 years (though I had been working since 6 collecting bottles for 2 cents refund and other lowly jobs) was as an engineers aide for the Louisiana Highway Dept. My job was inspector at a concrete plant that supplied concrete for highway dept. jobs. This was when they were building I-10 and I was assigned to a plant supplying concrete for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Bridge on Paris Road. This was the Core of Engineers canal that flooded New Orleans during Katrina. We had certain specifications for all the material used to make concrete and we had to test everything from the concrete sand to the rocks for size and percentage. After failing several loads that did not match the specifications, I was transferred to another job in the building that loaded the concrete onto the trucks making sure they had the correct amount of sand, water, gravel, cement, pozolith and air entrainment mix.

After rejecting several loads on concrete for failing to meet specifications I was assigned to the office to sweep floors and fix coffee. Not liking that job I got a job at the concrete plant as a dispatcher loading the concrete trucks with the highway dept. aide watching me. It was easy to accidently dump 2 tons too much sand in the truck or make other errors but fear not, the inspector was never watching me and never failed one of my loads. After a few months, a politically connected concrete company persuaded our small concrete company to cease business and let them have the contract and I was laid off.

I then went to work for a small industrial plastics company that had just got a contract from the highway department for glue to hold down those little reflectors that are in the middle of highways in various spots. They had never been used before and they were using our product for experimental uses to see how it lasted. We would mix 5 gallon batches of E10 epoxy resin with asbestos fiber to make a thick putty and put it in 1 gallon paint cans and package it along with 1 quart of E1000 epoxy fast drying catalyst for each use.

Another job we had was working at a large chemical plant sealing leaks in a million gallon tank with a fairly similar mixture and fiberglass cloth. This was an extremely rush job as the plant was shut down until we finished and I had to work 36 hours straight. Probably 8 hours of that was spent drinking strong coffee and going to the restroom. We were not union but the union plant workers had no problem with us doing the job as none of them wanted it. I was let off work the next day to catch up on sleep but slept a couple hours too long and was then fired for being late to work the next day.

Contesting that firing with the unemployment office I prevailed and was allowed to collect unemployment wages for 6 months in which I was trained in refrigeration and went to work for myself after that making much more than I ever made at an hourly job and worked for 38 years until Katrina when I retired early to make repairs to my properties. A few years later I learned my old boss at the industrial plastics company died from asbestos cancer and lawsuits had closed his business. None of the people I worked with at that company are alive today.

Any time I lost a job and went to a new one I later felt it was because God was looking out for me. As soon as this virus cr*p is over with I will once again enjoy my semi-retirement by seeing the rest of the world as I always wanted to do.

Life is as good as you make it. :thumbsup:

 

[user.69169]

Now I know who to blame fer Braille road markers.

Got half a box in one de sheds. Got some dat epoxy fer sealin sensor wires in pavement too.

Time dem markers got here dey came wid hunk of double sticky tape. County put a mile of dem in road dey topped with inch of new asphalt by choppin holes and pasting in. I look at job and wonder why. Some Federal grant thing, got asphalt fer free to test markers. OK, makes sense if you County.
Problem is snow plow don't know about little reflectors so it scraps em fast come winter. Found most reflectors over behind sidewalk come Spring.

 

[tallyho8]

What's a snow plow? Our precipitation comes as rain, not snow, and instead of snowplows we have high water vehicles.

 

[user.69169]

What's a snow plow? Our precipitation comes as rain, not snow, and instead of snowplows we have high water vehicles.

View attachment 683632

Cajun Navy Auxiliary unit.

Got de full fuel tank fer de boats to meet up wid and chow too.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

The first REAL job I had when I was 20 years (though I had been working since 6 collecting bottles for 2 cents refund and other lowly jobs) was as an engineers aide for the Louisiana Highway Dept. My job was inspector at a concrete plant that supplied concrete for highway dept. jobs. This was when they were building I-10 and I was assigned to a plant supplying concrete for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Bridge on Paris Road. This was the Core of Engineers canal that flooded New Orleans during Katrina. We had certain specifications for all the material used to make concrete and we had to test everything from the concrete sand to the rocks for size and percentage. After failing several loads that did not match the specifications, I was transferred to another job in the building that loaded the concrete onto the trucks making sure they had the correct amount of sand, water, gravel, cement, pozolith and air entrainment mix.

After rejecting several loads on concrete for failing to meet specifications I was assigned to the office to sweep floors and fix coffee. Not liking that job I got a job at the concrete plant as a dispatcher loading the concrete trucks with the highway dept. aide watching me. It was easy to accidently dump 2 tons too much sand in the truck or make other errors but fear not, the inspector was never watching me and never failed one of my loads. After a few months, a politically connected concrete company persuaded our small concrete company to cease business and let them have the contract and I was laid off.

I then went to work for a small industrial plastics company that had just got a contract from the highway department for glue to hold down those little reflectors that are in the middle of highways in various spots. They had never been used before and they were using our product for experimental uses to see how it lasted. We would mix 5 gallon batches of E10 epoxy resin with asbestos fiber to make a thick putty and put it in 1 gallon paint cans and package it along with 1 quart of E1000 epoxy fast drying catalyst for each use.

Another job we had was working at a large chemical plant sealing leaks in a million gallon tank with a fairly similar mixture and fiberglass cloth. This was an extremely rush job as the plant was shut down until we finished and I had to work 36 hours straight. Probably 8 hours of that was spent drinking strong coffee and going to the restroom. We were not union but the union plant workers had no problem with us doing the job as none of them wanted it. I was let off work the next day to catch up on sleep but slept a couple hours too long and was then fired for being late to work the next day.

Contesting that firing with the unemployment office I prevailed and was allowed to collect unemployment wages for 6 months in which I was trained in refrigeration and went to work for myself after that making much more than I ever made at an hourly job and worked for 38 years until Katrina when I retired early to make repairs to my properties. A few years later I learned my old boss at the industrial plastics company died from asbestos cancer and lawsuits had closed his business. None of the people I worked with at that company are alive today.

Any time I lost a job and went to a new one I later felt it was because God was looking out for me. As soon as this virus cr*p is over with I will once again enjoy my semi-retirement by seeing the rest of the world as I always wanted to do.

Life is as good as you make it. :thumbsup:

My story is similar, but I decided at 23 I was working for me. I did any job I could make money on and was happy to be a 1099, pay my own taxes and pay my own way. Many guys tried to hire me on full time, company truck, benefits, etc... I would as politely as possible say no thanks. I made my decision that no one would tell me how long I could work, how much work could I do, and how much I was gonna make, or where I was gonna be. Being a Union Carpenter sure made that a donny brook at first , but then I got a Universal Agreement that made me independent of the Locals. Self employed is where it's at if you have the nerve for it.

 

[dmccarty]

When I grew up in Orlando, we only wore shoes on Sunday for church and school days.
I used to sit in what is now the Citrus Bowl when it was called the Tinker Bowl and made of wood....

My grandpa took me and a cousin to see a ball game at Tinker Field once up a time. Have not thought of that day and place in decades... Just looked it up and they door Tinker down a few years ago.

Native Floridian am I, grew up in Orlando and can't stand how it is changed. Almost 20 years ago, we drove through downtown Orlando on I4. I had not been through downtown in a decade or so and was completely shocked at all of the sky scrapers. I could not see the church spires on Church Street.

Funny thing is that all of my family used to live in Florida and mostly in and around Orlando. Only my parents still live in the state, the rest have all left. My grandparents moved to FLA after WWII, and when they retired, they moved out of state to NC! :laughing: ALL of their retired neighbors had moved up from FLA. :laughing:

Really don't like what has happened to FLA. Just too much growth and paving over paradise. Course, I suspect that is what the natives here in my area of NC say too.

Later,
Dan