Guest Post: Leslie Rowe, “Shakin It Up”

Leslie Rowe is a writer from Sarasota, FL, who works at Great Words. I first read her piece at Bible Dude on her Journey to the Lost Things in Life and was blown away at the insight. Were honored that she shared here, and I encourage you to visit her site at leslierowe.com.

My mom hired me to iron. I don’t count that as my first job. I hate ironing to this day and I’m sure it has something to do with that. And babysitting wasn’t fun, either, which gives you a hint about the kind of nurturing mother I struggled to become. (Sorry, kids! You turned out okay anyway.)

Let me take you back to 1975, to Leesville Louisiana, friendly neighbor town to Fort Polk, Louisiana, where young army G.I.s endured basic training. Shakey’s Pizza filled them with pizza by the dozens and beer by the pitchers, with Larry Joe managing the process. Larry Joe seemed a bit too friendly in the walk-in cooler, by the way, but I secretly enjoyed his attention. He was 25, I was 15, and this is what I learned from my first job.

I learned to work hard and have fun at the same time. They had a foosball table and played funny cartoons on some old projector contraption.

I learned that working with your best friend is fun for me but horrible for management. When the pizza backlog got too big and the G.I.s were lined up out the door waiting for a table, Liz and I would collapse in useless laughter from the stress of it all.

I learned to play foosball like nobody’s business, and that being a girl was an advantage in that male-dominant sport because they underestimated the power of a well-practiced girl. I can still whip most when given the opportunity. (On a whim, I bought a foosball table on Craigslist last year and none of my kids can beat me.) (I know. It’s not much, but it’s a talent I’m proud to have.)

I learned to keep away from Larry Joe, especially when he’d been sipping Budweiser from the counter-top tap. And that his girlfriend was someone to be feared because she wanted to beat me up.

I learned to stay in school. Pumping out pizzas, pouring out pitchers, cleaning bathrooms, and washing crusty pizza trays was all I needed to keep my head in college, despite my lack of funds or focus. I’ll never regret earning my degree from Penn State, not after working at Shakey’s Pizza and later at Master Chef (home of the Master Burger of course) in Leesville, Louisiana.