Greeting Great Girth ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB Results )

 

Greeting great girth is not a prospect that appeals to me.  I do need to lose a few more pounds--maybe more than a few.  Another twenty maybe would be good.  And the way things have gone with food prices, maybe losing weight is the destiny of many of us.  Oh well, I'm not as hungry as I used to be anyway...

        Grand Buffet read the giant sign that blared across the face of the large structure that had lured us off of the interstate.  The parking lot was filled with the vehicles of other hungry travelers who had likely seen the advertising billboards that spoke to our collective hunger as we neared the exit that promised a great abundance of food to feed our bellies. Somehow an empty stomach can make the mind seem so full of ideas of what we are going to eat when confronted with an expanse of food choices.  

        Back in the seventies and eighties buffet restaurants seemed to become a big trend.  I loved them back then.  I was younger and I could put away more food.  And since I was working on the road most of the time back then, I was eating out most of the time.  Getting the most for my money was always a thing that interested me.  Also a wide selection of food was always something that attracted me. I would pile on the plates of food and savor it all.  Since I was relatively active in my lifestyle at the time, I didn't gain weight too rapidly.  However the weight did creep up on me over time.

      The prospect of greeting great girth into my life was not particularly appealing to me so I've tried to be careful.  I still don't eat properly, but I've actually lost weight in recent years and seem to be holding steady at 210.  Now to get below the two hundred mark.  It will likely happen, but I'm not overly exuberant about a dietary or exercise regimen.  Age will likely bring me there as well as not eating as much,

      Golden Corral Buffet is our choice for bounteous eating these days.  Not often, but when we want to eat a big meal. That's our usual choice.  Not that there are many other choices for buffet dining like we used to have.  There are a  number of Asian food buffets, but my wife is not fond of going to Asian restaurants.  I think it's something she heard once.  We all heard probably, but it doesn't bother me.  I love the flavors in Asian food.  But no Asian buffet for me I guess.  And it's probably for the better.  I can't eat big quantities anyway.  

       Oh, but Asian food!  Large quantities of buffet style servings of rice, noodles, meat dishes, and buffet sushi!  In my fantasy it sounds good, but I guess I'll stick to Panda Express.  On occasion.  Maybe once a month or so?  There's one across the street from where I live. It is an easy choice.

  

Do you enjoy buffet restaurants?  Do you have a favorite you'd like to tell us about?  How do you like Asian food?

Battle of the Bands Results

       My first Battle of April 2025 was two versions of a 1931 song that many of us know from the classic film Casablanca.  The song was "As Time Goes By" as interpreted by Rudy Vallee and Binnie Hale.  My preference was for Rudy and even without my vote he would have still won.

Final Vote Tally

Rudy Vallee       8 votes

Binnie Hale       6 votes

Aspects And Age ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB )

      A to Z starts now on my blog with this post.  Hope you'll follow along as I merrily roll and I hope if you have accepted this April Challenge that you can keep up.  I'm going to try to struggle my way through this and keep up.  We can do this!

 

Aspects of Age

     According to my AAA card I have been a member of the Automobile Club for 43 years.  It's kind of funny to see something like that.  I can recall a time when I thought 43 years old was rather old.  When I turned twenty that would have been the approximate age of my own parents.  Getting to that age myself didn't seem all that comprehensible to me back when I was twenty or so.  And now, I'm not only passed that age, but I've been a member of something for at least that long.  

      The aspects of aging confront me on a daily basis.  I still feel pretty physically well and I think I still have my mind.  Others might feel differently, but they probably don't really care much anyway. The fact is that as long as we are alive, we are aging.  After all, it's better than stop aging.

       And as I think I've heard said somewhere, "Age is relative".  Every once in a while Age will whomp me on the back of the head as though to tell me, "Hold it old fellow, you can't do that anymore" and I respectfully take heed.  Unless I get so stubborn that I don't.  Maybe someday age will do me in. Probably so.  But I'm not the only one...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

As Time Goes By

     And doesn't it though!  This song is most often associated with the 1942 film "Casablanca" but it was actually written a decade earlier and recorded a number of times before the film classic came out. Here are two of the earliest versions.  Which do you like best?

Rudy Vallee  "As Time Goes By"  (1931)

      Fun fact:  In 1978 I had dinner with Rudy Vallee (and others) in Huntington WV where he was appearing as part of a 50th anniversary of the opening of the Keith-Albee Theater.  In retrospect I am disappointed that I didn't pay attention to this legendary star and engage him in conversation.  At the time I didn't know that much about him nor did I care.  Part of the difference between the younger and older me.  Rudy made the first recording of this classic song...

 

Binnie Hale  "As Time Goes By"  (1932)

      Another early version of this song was recorded a year later by this female vocalist who has been mostly lost to history.  I'd never heard of her before, but I like her style.  Did Tiny Tim get some influence from her?...

Time to Vote!

          Yes, time is running out.   It's time for a Battle of the Bands!  You're supposed to vote on one of these song versions.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D 

Trivial Music Silliness

Voting Results will appear in my Tuesday April 8th post!

And now let's A to Z!!!

Zookeeper, Zoning Manager, Zzyzx Operator, ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

 

                Zoo is a common go-to for many an April A to Z series so zookeeper sounds like the natural way to go for this final letter.in regard to my series about occupations that I coulda been or actually was on occasion.  I was never a zookeeper, but I was a parent and that is sometimes compared to maintaining a zoo.  My critters--er, I mean--girls were pretty good.  Now they've got their own zoos with more nice kids like I had.  I'd much rather visit a zoo than keep care of one, but it does sound like an interesting occupation.

         Zoning manager is more like it for me. Not that I know much about zoning anything.  I'm sure I could figure it out as good as anyone else.  Sounds like an office job and that's my speed these days.  Then also, it's a manager job and as I've mentioned in earlier posts, I've been manager in most of my job positions.  Maybe I could be manager of an office of engineers or whatever who do zoning work.  And I could do the management part.  If that's how it works.

        Considering my location of Los Angeles I perhaps could apply as an operator at Zzyzx CA.  To clarify, Zzyzx is an exit one sees on the way to Las Vegas off of I-15.  There used to be some sort of health resort at this remote desert location, but now it's associated with some kind of university research.  They must have someone who runs things out there.  Guess I won't apply for that job. It gets really hot out there.

        And that, my friends, concludes another year for me of Blogging from A to Z.   I've explored the occupations that I coulda been as well as some of the things I actually did do.  Hope you enjoyed it and if you missed any of the posts then I hope you'll go back to check them out

       Comments always welcomed!

        Do you go to zoos very often?   Is the zoning where you live fairly strict or is it mostly lax and random?   Have you ever seen that Zzyzx exit or even actually gotten off there?

Yard Worker, Yacht Captain, Youth Director, Yo-yo Expert ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

            Since I don't know or care much about yarn, yeast, or yoga then I'll dismiss any occupations associated with those things.  I've done plenty of yard work in my life including working outdoors in what they called the "construction yard" when I was working at the contracting company that my father worked for while I was in college.  That's a young man's work and I wouldn't want to do much of that again.

       Yacht Captain would never come about for me so I can easily dismiss that job.  Youth director might be more related to my skillset, but I'm not sure I'd be the greatest youth director.  At least not if it were an energetic thing or where I might have to deal with unruly youth. Fact is I don't know that I'd want to be a director of any amassed group of people or any other creatures. 

         Maybe I'm best at being a yo-yo expert.  Not actual toy yo-yos, but metaphorical yo-yos that represent all the ups and downs and highs and lows of life.  But haven't we all?  Perhaps I should just go out and buy a toy yo-yo and start practicing.  It's probably a dead end career.  And once you reach the end of the string you just go back to where you've started. Yeah, I guess you could call me a yo-yo expert.

   

        Do you or have you in the past maintained a large yard?  Are you good when it comes to working with young people or just people in general?  How proficient are your yo-yo skills?

X-Ray Technician, X-tra in Movies, or just X ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

               X is the annoyance of any A to Z--or a time for creativity.  How to avoid the usual cliches of X?  Don't worry and just dive in.  

        X-ray technician or whatever seems like the natural place to go.  I've been x-rayed plenty of times in my life and operating a machine of this function seems like something I could do.  But I don't want to.  

        Considering where I live (Los Angeles area), being a movie-X-tra could be a real possibility for me. One of my daughters did it for a while and she seemed to have enjoyed doing it.  Since I worked in 1968 as a movie extra in a film shot in East Tennessee, I know a bit about doing this and it would be okay.

        Or I could just be "X"--another somewhat anonymous component of the urban sprawl in which I live. We all are statistics in one way or another.  Boxes checked to tell the Big Brain what we are, who we are, and where we are.  We all are X's in some kind of grid of information or designation.  And that's me: Mr. X from City X on Planet X.  That's me.

          What X jobs did I miss?   Do you feel like an "X" sometimes?   Are you a fan of statistics?   

Weeder, Warehouse Worker, Writer, Walker ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Weeder is not in my wheelhouse.  Been there and don't want to do it anymore.  At least not on any grand scale like I used to do for a while during my summer work interims between college quarters.  For a couple of summers I worked on a construction yard with a couple of other college guys picking up money during summer vacation.  Weeding was hot tiring work, but there were those times when it wasn't all that bad thanks to the banter among us college boys.  Then there were the times where I was left to my own thoughts as I hacked down those weeds with my scythe.  A tractor would have been better, but the company had us to do the work manually so there we were.  It was okay for a couple of summers in my youth, but not something I would have wanted to do for long.

      Warehouse worker became more my thing after a couple of weedy summers.  I found a summer job at a carnival supply warehouse in Knoxville TN and stayed on with them for a few years. It was great for me since the peak working period was during the summer months when I was off from school.  The rest of the year I would just come in when I could and the company was okay with that.  They liked me and I was a good worker for them.  I was hired on as an Assistant Manager (because I was in college), but I did plenty of hard work like loading and unloading trucks and stacking the incoming merchandise.  I came to love warehouses during those years and would come back to that scenario in a costume and Halloween supply company in my final working years before our warehouse closed and I was pushed into retirement.

        The thing that drew me to blogging after that retirement was my love of writing.  Since middle school I had begun dreaming of being a writer.  Over the years I've plied my writing skills mainly for my own amusement, but having a blog somehow gave my writing a place to be put on display for anyone to read.  Someday I'd like to go beyond my blog and actually publish something of substance. I love to write, but I think I would like it even more if I were paid to do it.  However that's on me.  I need to amp up my ambitions and do some serious writing.

        Or I could do some walking.  Years ago I started dreaming of walking across America and maybe beyond.  I actually started to do it a couple of times, but then I found an excuse to go back home to comfort.  I like to walk, but I also like being home.  Maybe I'll just be a walker who walks around my neighborhood or my house.  That seems like enough walking for me at my age.  But who knows--the dream of walking a long distance still remains in the back of my mind.  That's where that dream will likely stay.

       Do like the environment of a warehouse?   How is your writing career going?   What is the longest distance you've walked?  

Van Driver, Visitor Services, Videographer, Violinist (#AtoZChallenge)

 

             Van driver might be an appropriate job label for me these days since I have a van that I frequently use to transport my wife and I and other family members around.  In fact, the first vehicle I ever owned was a van and I've owned one ever since.  I've logged many miles in my vans so I think I could qualify as a professional van driver.  And when I worked for the airport shuttle service in Knoxville TN I was usually driving a van filled with paying passengers.  That is professional van driving for sure.

       We don't get many visitors at our house, but when we do I try to show them a good time.  I might be good at visitor services.  Maybe I could work at a hotel, tourist office, or some other location where travelers were seeking information and help getting around.  One in that position would probably meet some interesting people, though I'd rather be the one doing the visiting.

        My oldest daughter works as a videographer on occasion.  I suppose I might have influenced her since I used to take a lot of videos of the family.  Doing video work might be a lot of fun and very interesting depending on what type of video I was shooting.  I'd need some better video equipment if I were going to seriously pursue the career of a videographer.  I guess I'd need to work another job to make the money to buy the equipment.  Or maybe I could just not be a videographer.

        Violinist has been a big part of my identity since I was a child.  My playing ability has never achieved any high level of skill, but I've managed to use this job persona to make a living to a certain degree. I will never be mistaken for a virtuoso, but I can honestly say that I've worked as a violinist.

      Are there any talents that you acquired in childhood that have helped you earn a living in your adult life?   Do you enjoy taking home movies or videos?  What was your first vehicle?

Underground Worker, Upholsterer, Undertaker, U.S. Government Worker ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

           Underground worker might mean a number of things.  In my youth I considered myself as somewhat of a Hippie.  Back then Hippies were considered part of an "underground movement" by some, but I wasn't really that serious of a Hippie--I just identified with the movement to a degree.  A small degree.  It was pretense mostly.  I wasn't really very underground back then other than when I was exploring caves.  Being claustrophobic as I am, caving wasn't too much in my comfort realm.  I stopped doing that after a while.  Being underground isn't so much my thing.

          When I was a kid living in San Diego. during our frequent visits to Tijuana Mexico I would see many shops advertising "tuck and roll upholstery for automobiles".   There were a ton of those places back then, but I was never lured by the world of upholsterers.   When I had furniture that needed to be upholstered I just got rid of it and bought new furniture.  I'm no upholsterer.

          Undertaker seems like a very bizarre job to do.  Sure, it's respectable and can be lucrative I suppose, but being around dead bodies in a very intimate way seems creepy to me.  Somebody's got to do it, but that person is not me.  

            Neither is United States Government worker.  We've already got too many of them anyway.  If I had spent my life as a government worker, I probably would be enjoying a better retirement than I do now.  That is, if I had survived the work.  I'm sure there's a lot of government jobs that could have suited me, I didn't do them or pursue them.  So much for government work.

        Were you ever involved in underground work in reality or metaphorically?   Have you ever had anything upholstered or done it yourself?   Did you do any work for a government?

Telephone Worker, Teacher, Tour Guide, Theater Manager ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

          Telephone worker?  Yeah, done that plenty.  Sales, research, customer service, fundraising--I've done it all.  Of course, much work involves the telephone so it's not surprising that most of us have used this tool in some capacity during our working lives.  It's not what I want to do to make a living, but it is a vital tool for work in our time and has been for decades.

           Teacher could have been a real possibility for me.  When I was attending University of Tennessee back in the early 1970s my major was English with a career goal of becoming credentialed to teach.  My plan was to teach high school or middle school so I ended up taking a lot of teaching courses. But then I dropped out of college to start working.  Although I tried substitute teaching, being a full-time educator is not something I think I would have enjoyed.  I'm glad I did what I did in my life.

           Touring the country with road shows might have been a good credential for being a tour guide.  In fact, each year with new travelers on my tour I often felt like a guide as I took these unseasoned travelers to visit sites across the country that I had enjoyed on previous tours.  I kind of enjoy being a tour guide for family and friends so I might enjoy this as a job.

         Similarly, theater manager might have been a good path for me to have taken.  I've played many a fine theater and visited many others.  As noted in previous posts, I am a show business guy at heart.  I love the theater and most of my working life was spent in management.  Theater manager sounds like the ideal placement for me!

         How have you used the telephone in your working life?  Have you had any experience in the field of teaching?   Can you recall any tour guides in your life that you thought were particularly outstanding?

Sales, Security, Stage Manager, Showman, Silly Fellow ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

          Sales is really not for me.  I'm not much of a salesman, but maybe because I'm too honest.  A good salesperson will pride themselves on being able to sell just about anything no matter how good it is or what it is. I'm more apt to talk a perspective customer out of buying something.  But I have had my moments in sales so I guess I haven't been a complete failure at sales.  I'd just rather not do it.

         Security is another field in which I have no interest in doing myself.  I like to feel secure, but I'd prefer someone else to provide that security.  Sadly safety doesn't seem to be that much of an issue with many people these days.  At least not to those in power unless it's keeping themselves secure.

           Stage manager is more to my liking.  This is a job I've done for periods in my life and I enjoyed doing it.  But I like things related to show business whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes.  I've been a showman, not in any huge way, but in a satisfactory way to appease my own interests.  Yes, showman at heart is what I am.

           Or am I just a silly fellow pursuing fantasies that at times I have achieved, but mostly dreaming too big to ever make it reality.  Dreaming is fine, but it shouldn't interfere with the real every day life.  I suppose I've created balance in my life.  But I'm still a silly fellow--some might say.

          Are you adept at selling?  Did you have show business dreams at any time of your life?  Do you think your life pursuits have been silly or have you accomplished just as much as you ever hoped and dreamed?

Railroad Worker, Retailer, Radio DJ, Roustabout, Roadie, Road Warrior ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

           Railroads have been a fascination for me since I was a young child.  But railroads have fueled many imaginations since their inception nearly 300 years ago.  Aside from that fact, railroading might have been passed down through my family heritage.  For a while my maternal grandfather worked on a railroad.  That was before I was born, though I often heard stories about his working on a railroad operating a steam engine.  Working on a railroad not only sounds interesting, but it also sounds like a good topic for a song.

         Retailer is a common occupation that is not too bad to pursue even if it is often not particularly lucrative.  Most of my jobs dealing with tangible goods were related to the wholesale end of selling.  In the late eighties I did a few month stint working at a Radio Shack. I did enjoy the work environment and the people I encountered, but, alas, I didn't have a good grasp on what I was selling.  Still, the upper management did attempt to recruit me into managing a store.  That store would have been farther than I wanted to commute so I was hesitant to take it.  Then a wholesale position opened up for me and that was the end to my retail job.  I'd rather sell merchandise wholesale to retailers anyway.

        Radio DJ sounds like a dream job to me.  I'd do that one now if I had a good offer.  However I doubt whether I'll be getting that offer anytime soon.  I don't know that my voice is all that good to be a radio personality anyway.  But spinning discs on some late night radio show sounds kind of cool.  I'd play some weird music until the guys on top told me not to anymore.

        I was frequently around roustabouts when I was working in circuses or carnivals.  I'd rather be that kind of roustabout than one that works on oil rigs.  The pay would be a lot less, but I'd still be under a show business spell.  Still, it would be a rough life and I don't think I'd be cut out for that.  Likewise being a roadie for a rock and roll band.  It might be a glamorous life in some ways, but I'd rather be on the stage than setting it and cleaning it up.

       Most of my life I've been a "road warrior" as I've traveled the continent playing shows all over the place.   I've become very adapted to travel since I've been doing it since childhood.  I love the road and I am suited to the lifestyle of traveling.  Road life has a lure for many of us.  I'm one of those.

        Do enjoy long road trips?     Have you taken any extensive train trips?    What retail selling experiences have you had?  

Questioner, Quality Controller, Quoter, Quibbler ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

            Question for you:  Do you like to ask questions?

             I am a big questioner in many respects.  I am curious about the world around me as well as the people I meet.  No, I don't think of it as being nosy--I just like to know about things.  I like to hear stories and histories.  To me this is not weird, but completely normal.  I'd love to have a job asking questions, whether it be to get opinions or find out facts about people or what people might know about.  In my years spent in management as well as those working in marketing research, I've been in positions where my job was to ask questions.  I liked that role then and I still enjoy it.

          Quality control is vital for any business that wants to maintain a good reputation.  In my past jobs I've often been a stickler for giving customers a high quality of experience with me and the companies I worked for.   Insistence on quality control is pretty much practicing the "Golden Rule" of respect for others.  I like good quality whether I'm paying or not and I try to provide good quality as much as I can.  I can handle quality control because this is what I expect as well from others.

             Not only as a writer and blogger do I sometimes quote what others have said, but throughout my life I have enjoyed a good quote and will sometimes cite my own when I can remember them.  I've never been that great at memorizing things so I tend not quote very often off the cuff.  I keep a few books of quotes on my shelves just in case, but usually these days I'm more prone to just go online to find an appropriate quote.

           Quibbler some might say is more my style.  I don't think I quibble that much, but sometimes I think it's necessary when you want to excel in things like quality control.  I'm not really that much of a quibbler, I just play one on television.  Well, not really.  That reference was kind of a quote that I've heard elsewhere.  Don't know where I heard it, but I don't want to quibble about it.

       Do you think "Quibble" is kind of a dumb word?   Are you a stickler for high quality in the work you do?  Is there a favorite saying that you like to quote?

Eater, Elephant Trainer, Easter Bunny, Economist, Environmentalist, and Entertainer ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

          Eating is something I enjoy.  Getting paid to eat sounds like a dream job.  Well, that is, if I were getting paid to eat something I truly liked to eat and in that case getting the food for free would be enough.  When my kids were little I used to pay them sometimes to eat something they didn't want to try.  I'd offer them a quarter to try something and they would usually try it at least.  These days if I made the same offer to my grandkids they'd likely scoff at the idea. "A quarter is all you got to offer?"  I'm sure they'd pass on that one.  A dollar might get some attention, but I couldn't afford that for long.  Pay or no pay, give me the food and I'll at least try it.  But I'm sure no one is going to pay me to eat.

       Even if I were hungrier than I'd ever been, I could never eat an elephant.  I can recall hearing people saying this when they were extremely hungry, but it was a hyperbole used to counter the hyperbole of being so hungry one could eat a horse.  It's rather doubtful that I'd even consider eating a little bit of elephant meat.  I've always been fascinated by elephants, but not enough to eat their meat.  Nor would I want to be an elephant trainer.  Over the years while working on a few circuses, I've known some elephant trainers.  Seems like a huge investment in animals, trucks, equipment, and animal feed.  And it would be a lot of work.  I like to look at elephants, but I don't want to live with them and take care of them all the time.

        Easter Bunny might be a cushy job.  No, not the real Easter Bunny since we know that critter is not real.  I mean the costumed Easter Bunny like you see in shopping malls and the like.  What a nightmare!  Being confined in that furry costume and dealing with bratty kids all day sounds like a real nightmare to me.  I've had my share of wearing mascot costumes and having to maneuver with limited visibility.  Except the times when I wore a costume like this it was for brief periods on stage in a show.  I'd do my thing and then rush off stage to get the darn thing off so I could see and breathe and not be so hot.  No big furry costumes for me.  Well, unless the pay was extremely lucrative and I haven't been offered that yet.

        Economist might be more my speed.  That's a thinking man's job that probably entails a lot of deskwork.  These days I might be able to handle that, but I don't know how good I'd be at ascertaining the state of economies and the like.  And I do like the theorizing of environmentalists although I think a lot of their conclusions are a bit off base.  I'd likely be ejected from the community of environmentalists rather quickly if I were to enter that field of study.   

         Entertainer is my ultimate preferred career.  That's where I spent much of my working life and I'd actually go back to doing it again if the opportunity arose with the right financial terms to incentivize my taking the job.  I'm not sure I would want the same type schedule I used to have, but if things were made easier for me then I'd love to do another entertainment job.  Who knows?  It could happen I suppose...

        Any jobs under the letter "E" that sound interesting to you?  Have you ever worked in the guise of a mascot costumed character?  What do you think is the most pressing environment issue of our time?

      

        

         

Dishwasher, Driver, Deliveryman, Dreamer ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Dishwasher is one of those drudgeries that we often think of as a bottom level job.  Yet, one of my most memorable jobs was that of a dishwasher and it really wasn't a bad job at all.  Then again, it was a job I only held for a couple of weekends.  It was October of 1975 and the magic show that I had been working in was in a lull of a layover that found us staying in Terre Haute Indiana.  We didn't have any immediate bookings so I went to Manpower temp agency to find some job that would give me quick money to get me through the dry time.  What they offered was a weekend job washing dishes for the National Guard.  Apparently they were trying to encourage their members by hiring outside workers to do the grunt labor like dishwashing.  The pay was above the norm for that type of job and the hours were ideal for me.  The workplace conditions were outstanding and my coworkers were educated guys like me just looking for extra money.  It was a very nice job actually and we could fix our own breakfast and lunch when the meal rushes were over.  The best part for me was having access to all the milk that we wanted including chocolate milk.  As a chocolate milk fanatic at the time it was like my ultimate milk dream.  It's not a job I would want to do forever, but in those conditions it was not a bad dishwashing job at all.  

        Driving is one of my favorite things to do and fortunately for me many of my jobs involved a great deal of driving.  My favorite driving was when I was touring on shows and drove my van or occasionally a show truck.  That was long haul driving much of the time and I'd enjoy listening to music and enjoying the scenery.  However, I also had a job with an airport shuttle which I enjoyed.  My shift would start very early morning and I was usually off by early afternoon.  Those were some great hours despite having to wake up much earlier than most of my jobs.  I've also done a number of delivery jobs which I enjoyed a great deal.  That work was especially interesting in towns where I was staying temporarily because it gave me a fast track learning experience of unfamiliar territory.  It was like sightseeing with occasional delivery stops.  Delivery work has it perils.  Since my experience was typically in smaller towns I didn't have to deal with the types of things we've been seeing lately with Amazon drivers and such.   Dogs were a concern at times and  weird places could be a bit uncomfortable, but mostly the work wasn't too bad.   If I had pursued a career with some company like UPS or FedEx then I'd probably have a nice retirement right now, but that's not what I did and now I am where I am.

         My dream job would be to be a dreamer.  I find it annoying when certain political hacks refer to certain immigrants as "dreamers" and even pass laws referring to that term.  Heck, I used to call myself a "dreamer" before it became a political term for people who are dreaming about whatever handout they can get from our government.  All of us are dreamers.  We all have some kind of dream so no one group can claim that exclusive right.  I've dreamed in my life and I've actually lived my dream working jobs that I had only hoped to have when I was a kid.  I am a dreamer.  Now if I can only get paid just to dream and share my dreams with others.  Sounds like a true dream job to me.

       What work have you enjoyed that might be considered drudgery by some?   What is the worst work environment you can think of?    What is your biggest dream of a job you'd like to do or have done?

Carnie, Cook, Clerk, Customer Service ( #AtoZChallenge & #IWSG )

        

   

          Coulda, woulda, shoulda--yeah, I could have done lots of things in life.   But I did what I did and that was pretty cool for the most part.  Still, it's fun to think about what might have been--or what I'm glad wasn't.

          I could very possibly have been a carnie, traveling the country conning customers with shyster games, operating carnival rides, or working in a tent show of some kind.  Actually, I have on a couple of past occasions worked in a carnival show for short stints.  Not a lifestyle I'd probably have wanted to continue for any long period of time, but it was fun to do it for those short whiles when I was younger.  During my college years I also worked at a carnival supply company where I encountered many carnies.  Sure, they get a bad rap (sometimes deservedly so), but most of the carnies with whom I dealt were okay people.  Most worked hard during warm weather months and some of them spent winters in Florida or some other warmer clime. Seems like it could be an interesting life, but the life of the carny is not really my thing.

         Since I was a kid I've kind of enjoyed cooking, so I guess the career of cook or chef could have been one I might have pursued.  From all I've heard, restaurant work can be pretty stressful and things can get hot in the kitchen.  Cooking as a career choice might have gotten old fast.  I do enough cooking these days since I'm the cook in our household.  When my kids were growing up I usually cooked for them.  Now they are gone and I just cook for my wife and I.  That's enough cooking for me.

         Over the years I have worked both as a store clerk and a customer service representative.  Those were okay jobs, but I can't say I would have wanted a life career doing either.  Same with construction worker:  That was a job for the younger me and I wouldn't have wanted to do that my entire working life.  Though it's all commendable work.  There are just other things I'd rather do.

        Sometimes we just take jobs because they are there and we need them.

        Have you done any of these jobs?  What do you think of work that involves constant travel?   What is your favorite food to cook?

      The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia

April 3 question - How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

         I've been blogging almost as long as I've been doing Blogging from A to Z April Challenge--15 years!   When I first started in September of 2009 I was transitioning from a career that had basically ended primarily because of the internet and into a life where I was exploring the possibilities of income derived from the internet.

       The first few years were challenging and exciting.  The blogging world was so new and unique to me.  At last I had a way to fulfill my writing aspirations without going through the traditional channels of the past.  Now I could set up my own platform, write whatever I felt like writing, and just publish it for anyone to access.  That was what I liked.  However eventually I found the computer life interfering with my real world life.  In recent years, my enthusiasm for blogging has waned to some degree and certain other issues with computer and personal time have decreased my online time.

        Over my years of blogging I don't know that blogging itself has changed as much as the attitudes of individual bloggers have changed such as my own has.  I've seen bloggers come and go and the ones I continue to follow seem to be carrying on as they have.  And there are those who now blog in a similar way to which I do.

        For now, I continue to keep blogging since I do understand the potential in it.  Maybe my blogging will increase again as I find more personal purpose to it.  Or maybe I'll just continue doing what I've been doing.  I don't think I'll ever stop posting on my blog anytime soon, but for now I've got no great blogging impetus propelling me forward.  If that comes, then maybe I'll be on fire for blogging again.  For now I'll just tend to the embers of creativity until it's time to fan the flames.

        What do you find to be the most useful aspect of blogging?  Has your blogging activity ever interfered with your life?   Do you now blog more or less than you used to?

Barker, Baker, Booker, Blogger, ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

   

          Blogger?  I am a blogger, but I can't say I'm making much money doing it.  Then, I don't really pursue blogging with any great degree of seriousness.  In my early days of blogging I was pretty avid about the whole idea.  After all, that's the main reason I came up with doing this Blogging from A to Z April Challenge thing.  Over the years I've drifted away from my big blogging enthusiasm that beset me in those first few years.  Things happened and my attentions have been drawn elsewhere.  Not to say that I'm ever going to give up blogging, but for now it's not a big pursuit of mine.  For now blogging is a placeholder for something that might come up later where my blog will serve a real useful function.  Big ideas on hold for a moment I guess. For the time being, blogging is a dalliance rather than any real occupation, though sometimes I put as much work into it as I have many of my past jobs.

        Throughout my years in show business I've come into contact with barkers and I'm not talking about dogs.  If the term seems unfamiliar to you, a barker is a "talker" in front of some sort of attraction at a fair, carnival, circus, or some other public function.  The barker is the person out front who is drawing a crowd and giving the sales pitch for the attraction they are fronting.  Since I'm not much of a shouter who can glibly come up with things to say to persuade people to buy whatever it is that I'd like to "sell" then the art of barking is not my schtick. 

       And though I've baked things at home, I don't think I'd want to be a baker.  My youngest daughter is a pretty good baker.  For a while she was pretty busy with her home based baker business in New Jersey.  She would regularly post pictures of some of her masterful cakes and other assorted baked goods on Facebook.  As a regular job she also worked as a baker in various restaurants.   She really needed an industrial type kitchen to sustain her own business properly but so far has not gone that route.  She's good at the baking, but maybe not so much at the business part of things.  Let's face it--to have a successful business then you've got to have someone who understands the ins and outs of running a business.

    In 1966 after my family moved to Tennessee, my father started a booking agency that he worked as a sideline out of our home.  He did pretty good at it for a while, but maybe it got to be too much for him doing it in tandem with his regular full time job.  Or maybe the show booking business was no longer as lucrative as it had been in the years prior. Or maybe he just wasn't getting the return for his investment, which is probably the downfall of many a business.  Over the years I've dabbled in show booking.  It was not especially lucrative for me either.  Maybe I just didn't try hard enough.  But maybe I wasn't interested enough to keep pursuing that route.

 

      So for me it's been no to barking, baking, or booking.  But I guess blogging is still there as an option.  Arlee Bird--Blogger.  Not bad I guess.  Or maybe I can do better.  Time will tell.

        What "B" jobs have you done?   Have you done any jobs related to baking or cooking?   When is it time to give up on a business dream?

Accountant, Acrobat, Actor, Amanuensis (#BOTB & #AtoZChallenge )

   April Alphabet time has arrived again!  My theme this year is "I Coulda Been..."--all the paths I could have taken but didn't as well as some of the paths I did take on my life journey.   Ready?  Let's go...

   

       I could have been an accountant.  My father's main occupation in life was that of an accountant. So I guess I could have taken that route in my own life, but I don't think I was really cut out for that kind of a job.  My mother had been a acrobatic dancer before she married my dad and she continued this until my sister took dance lessons and took her place as the acrobat in the family.  My parents tried to get me to join my sister in dance lessons when I was probably about five, but I was having none of that either. I stubbornly resisted that talent--probably because I didn't really have that kind of talent.

      My shyness kept me from pursuing acting in school.  I appeared in a few school productions, but not as an actor.  In later life I somewhat dabbled in acting.  For over a decade I managed a stage production where I sometimes also played one or more roles.  Since the soundtrack was prerecorded maybe I wasn't such a legitimate actor, but I was acting out the parts being "spoken" on tape so I guess I was an actor of sorts.  Movie actor would have been an interesting career track I think, but other than working as an extra in the film A Walk in the Spring Rain back in 1970 I never became a film actor.

      These days I don't often run into an English language word that I've never heard before, but recently while reading Richard Dillon's Meriwether Lewis I came upon the word amanuensis.  According to Dillon, Lewis was an amanuensis to Thomas Jefferson--in other words according to one definition: a literary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation  or copies manuscripts.  Well, that seems pretty cool to have for oneself.  I could use one of those in that occupation.   But, alas, I am an amanuensis to myself.  Since I can't afford to hire my own amanuensis then the burden falls into my hands. Now I realize I can't even afford myself. 

       And that's all I have for the letter "A"!

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Both Sides Now

        Just about anyone knows this great Joni Mitchell song because now it's become a classic standard performed by numerous artists. The song is fitting for my A to Z theme since it reflects on the options we face in life and the myriad things we have all done.  Here are two well known versions by top artists.  Which do you like best?

Judy Collins   "Both Sides Now"  (1967)

Neil Diamond   "Both Sides Now"  (1969)

Time to Vote!

         It's just time to have some fun.  In other words, which song version do you like best?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Trivial Music Silliness

Mike's Ramblings

Results on Monday April 8

       A to Z posts will keep on coming until then.   Hope you'll stay with me for those, but by all means stop back by to see who one this Battle.

The Deep Never-ending Well of Inspiration ( #AtoZChallenge & #IWSG )

The faith that we build
Will strengthen our close growing closer

Till waiting is filled
We simply remember we are,
Where ever we are.

---"Dust" by Hall/Erickson

    If you're looking for the May 1st Battle of the Bands then you'll find it HERE.   Hope you will stop by and vote.  

    

  A to Z Reflections are further down this page so hang on and you will get there if you keep on reading.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the  May 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Victoria Marie Lees, and M Louise Barbour!

May 3 question - When you are working on a story, what inspires you?

       There is no one single answer to this question.  Inspiration comes from many sources and leads me to different outlets of expression.   Maybe it was something I read in the news or elsewhere.  Or perhaps a story related to me by someone else.  And more often than not my inspiration comes from my own life experiences or my imagination (and who knows where that comes from sometimes). 

         For me inspiration is a continuous flow that weaves and diverges throughout my waking and dreaming existence.  Once into actual writing of a story I might give myself a soundtrack to write by--most often something classical or instrumental in some other genre. Sometimes my mere self-motivation to finish my writing will fuel inspiration.

        In the past few years most of my writing is on my blog.  The yearly Blogging from A to Z April Challenge gives me a lot of writing inspiration so that is a plus for doing that particular blog-a-thon. 

        

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Reflections 2023

        From my standpoint, considering the conditions under which I have been blogging this year, this 2023 A to Z went pretty darn smoothly.  This year I've been dealing with limited computer access which doesn't allow me to spend a lot of time doing online activities such as blogging.  In some ways this has been good for my personal life, but a great hindrance in doing time consuming activities such as visiting and commenting on other blogs.  Nevertheless, I did manage to post on time for every letter as well as my assigned posts on the A to Z Blog.  And I read every comment though was not always responsive to them.  Thanks to all who commented.

         Primarily I'll attribute my timely postings to doing a lot of my work in March before the Challenge began.  I laid out my posts for April and took many of the photos I would need for illustrating my posts.  The pre-preparation really does help and I will likely do this as much as I can in future Challenges.  It's worked in the past and saved me a lot of grief this year.  Then again, I'm always tempted just to improvise as I go.  Next year is next year.

         Not but more I can add that's better than the Reflections posts that I've read from other participants that I've been able to see.  I'm sure there's many more.

        And my biggest thanks goes out to the incredible A to Z Team.  Thanks to all of you!  If you readers want to check out some of the A to Z Reflections as well as find the links to Team members' blogs go to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog.

Thank you everyone for another great April of blogging fun!