“It’s not you, honey, remember mommy’s first cooking job was at a trailer park”.  Said by my husband to our teen daughter after I merely flicked an English muffin off one plate and onto another in order to top up her eggs. She was offended at the pace and lack of grace of my movement but all I was doing was going back to my short order cook training and being efficient. I can move in my kitchen faster than you can imagine and it is a skill that I am proud of but it can look a little brusque.

Which set me to the topic of first jobs.  I learned more during those early summers than I care to recount.

·         How to drink with the big kids til midnight and get to my post at the griddle by 5 am.

·         How not to burn myself while frying eggs at warp speed (or suffer through if I did!)

·         How to drive a pickup truck to the dump and leave the lights off in hopes of seeing bears

·         How to clean up pickle juice when  5 gallon jug falls during the am rush

·         How many maraschino cherries you need to keep you going for a busy shift without getting sick

·         Ignoring the occasional “pass” from some creepy old guy

·         Oh, and inventory, cooking, creating new dishes, responsibility and the importance of speed

Hey, it all served me well. But it does make me think: what will be her first job and what will its impact be? Barista at a coffee shop? Selling shoes at the mall? Extra in movies? All have their downsides and side effects but in the long run, they leave their imprint. She can only hope that her outcome will be as good as mine.

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3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."