First job
My husband Don laughed when I brought the Target delivery into the house this morning.
“I was doing that over fifty years ago,” he said.
Delivering groceries, that is, from a butcher shop in Garfield Hts., Ohio. The funniest thing is that he was just fifteen years old.
This was my first time getting my order brought to the doorstep. I was happy. Two hours after I placed the order, it arrived. Perfect avocados. Decent bananas. My favorite: Veggie Straws. And the milk, which started the whole thing.
For household items, I typically order online and do curbside pickup, but today I didn’t feel like driving out and sitting in the parking lot, waiting. Given the reasonable Shipt delivery fee, I figure between gas and the good prices at Target, it’s worth it. Plus, I’m contributing to someone else’s employment. Less than two hours after I placed my order, it was delivered.
Can you drive?
When Don applied for a job at Kin’s Butcher Shop in 1963, the owner asked him if he could drive a car. “Sure!” Don said. Fact was he’d been driving his buddies’ cars for a year at least. The owner didn’t ask how old Don was, or if he had a license, and Don didn’t voluntarily offer any of that information. After all, he wanted the job.
He enjoyed it. The butcher filled the orders, Don delivered, and earned a tip. He tells some fun stories about his first job, but I think the fact that his employer never asked to see a driver’s license is the best.
Shorty after my Target packages arrived, I got an email confirmation and was given the opportunity to rate “Melita,” my shopper, and to leave a tip. Which I did.
I hope delivery services will continue after the pandemic. By the way, Don is scheduled for the first dose of his COVID-19 vaccine on Friday through Beaumont Hospital. I hope to get a notice that I can sign up for mine soon.
Thank you for visiting Linda’s blog.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security