Springtime '75

March 17, 1975 – 24 years old … 4th annual St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl … I have no memory of this event now; truth is I likely had little memory of it the day after … I do know that I didn’t answer the phone either morning if the School district called.

If it sounds like I wasn’t exactly driven in those days I must disagree. The truth was I had a very well defined career goal at the time. Inspired by the Dean Moriarty character in Kerouac’s On the Road (and having already accomplished the hitchhiking part) I wanted, for my career, to be a parking lot attendant. I applied for such a job at the Lancaster Parking Authority and even had an inspirational song to hum:

I want to be a parking lot attendant
That is what I really want to be –ee –ee
For if I was parking lot attendant
Then all my friends could park for free-ee-ee
sung to the tune of the Oscar Mayer Weiner Song)

April – I began serious job search efforts … working with the PA Bureau of Employment Security following leads, going to interviews, taking Federal and State civil service tests … meanwhile I tended bar, tutored, sold (attempted to sell) expensive vacuum cleaners, and continued to substitute. Meanwhile the following ditty expressed my career goal:

May – took employment at Key Personnel where I was supposed to find jobs for others … strange task considering I had failed to find a job for myself … this was the job that Sil referred to earlier where one day shortly afternoon my boss walked past my office and did a double take before backing up and seeing me sitting on my desk. Actually I was waiting for him. Despite his best efforts to talk my out of it I quit my job on the spot in order to catch a Wednesday doubleheader at the Pacific.

June – The PA BES had begun its machinations to place me in the rat race … their first successful reference found me summer employment for the Lancaster Recreation Commission as a summer park supervisor at Musser Park. From the day I stepped foot on that playground, June 9th or 16th, I have been gainfully employed until this day. After the summer, PA BES placed me in a teaching position in Columbia from which I transitioned into employment at City Hall Lancaster a year later.

Was the world coming to an end? The 328 Club lease would expire in late August with no hope for renewal (unless we wanted to not only begin paying rent but also make restitution for past rent due). Both Dan & Tim L had moved on with their lives and left the zoo for calmer waters and things like careers and eventually families.

Nooooooo … it ain’t over until WE say it’s over …