For the next few weeks I will be taking my readers on a chronological 60–year journey on the jobs I have held. Perhaps this is a result of my four months of full retirement and my reflections on all of the various ways I have made money. I hope not to bore you with the meanderings of a geezer, but rather, to give you a glimpse into the varieties of jobs I worked, and what they taught me about life. Here is the list of what I will be sharing in the next weeks:
1964-67–Indentured Servitude at Cleaver Carpet Center in Pueblo (my dad’s business)
1968–Making automobile pistons at Tri-Plex Foundry
1969–Working on the assembly line for General Motors
1969–Sold Cable TV subscriptions ‘Door to Door’
1970-72 Ambulance Driver/Attendant, Enid Ambulance Service
1970-71 Student Manager of the Campus Cafe—Phillips U
1971-72 Social Worker—Enid State School
1972-73 Childcare Worker—Colorado Christian Home, Denver
1972-74 Youth Minister—Mountair Christian Church, Lakewood
1974-76 Coordinator of Special Projects and Assistant to the Dean
Phillips Graduate Seminary
1976-81 Senior Chaplain—Enid State School
1979-81 Waiter—Pepper Mill Restaurant, Enid
1981-86 Associate Minister—Central Christian Church, Pueblo
1986-97 Senior Pastor—First Christian Church, Alamosa
1992-97 Yoked Pastor— Monte Vista Christian Church
1997-2015 Senior Pastor—South Broadway Christian Church, Denver
2015 Interim Minister—Cheyenne First Christian Church
2015-18 Lyft Ride Share driver—Denver
2017-23 Transitional Senior Pastor— First Christian, Greeley
So now let me begin with 1964 and working at my father and uncle’s business. I had just finished 9th grade and I was preparing to play baseball. My dad “told” me that I was going to work at Cleavers. So much for my chance to pitch in the major leagues. I was then informed that my boss was going to be my Uncle Paul, and my dad would be my twin cousins’ boss. I think that was the ‘owners’ attempt at avoiding parental conflict.
My cousins Bill and Bob had it made with my dad. As hard a taskmaster my dad was at home, he was the personality of the business and my Uncle Paul was the hard nosed business man. So, at that time Cleaver Carpet covered both ends of all that was carpet. They sold it and cleaned it. I got stuck on the cleaning side of the operation. While my two cousins made 15 cents an hour more than I did because they were carpet layers.
In 1964 we had the only “plant operation” in Pueblo. What that meant was, that many folks did not have wall to wall carpet, but rather, area rugs. Everyday we would have a list of 10-15 addresses where we would pick up everything from high end oriental rugs to cat—urine—soaked rag rugs. What I am saying is, that I quickly learned about the huge differences in how people live. It was also very hard physical work. I was the assistant to men who made their livings working for my family. There were about eight guys who worked there besides the bosses’ kids. It was clear they were not all that happy about having to provide ‘On the Job Training’ to these owners’ boys. I figured out pretty quickly that they depended on me to do my job. To a person, I loved working with those guys, and I really developed a work ethic.
In 1965 I got my drivers license in the middle of the summer. This meant I got my own truck. It was also the summer of floods in Colorado. We were contracted by Red Cross to salvage hundreds of rugs at our plant. I worked 55 hours a week and had enough money at the end of the summer to buy a 1963 Chevy Impala Super Sport convertible. It was the coolest car I have ever owned, and the reward for very hard work.
In 1967 I sold that car for nearly what I paid for it. That paid for my first year of college at Phillips University. The real value of my years of working at Cleavers was not the money I made, but what I learned about life, especially people.
Whenever I see an overloaded truck headed to do carpet work I have flashbacks.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 