What was your first or second job you ever had?

My first job was working at a small department store in Rocky Mount called Maxway.  It was located in the shopping center where Schewels and the Habitat store are now (the old, old Winn Dixie building).  My 2nd job was a delivery driver for NAPA auto parts when it was located downtown across from Angle Hardware.  

I loved that job. I got to drive a little truck with a big blue and yellow hat on top!  Kids these days would roll their eyes at it.  But I loved it.  I went all over Franklin County.  Met a ton of people who I still talk to today and learned just about every backroad in the county. And every day I also went to the NAPA warehouse in Roanoke off of Brandon Ave to pick up special orders.

It was fun.  The delivery truck was an S-10 with manual 4 speed with an "extra" 5th gear for overdrive.  The one thing it did not have was air conditioning or a radio!  I was 18 or 19 at the time and at that age you don't really care about whether or not the AC works but the radio issue had to be fixed. 

So I brought a "boom box" from my house and lots of batteries and put the passenger side seat belt on it so it wouldn't fly into the floor board. This is where my love for rock music started.  WROV (96.3) was about the only thing the radio would pick up!  So that became my jam.

So why talk about a truck with a big hat?  Because one particular experience while driving it taught me that patience is everything.  

I had a morning route and and evening route.  My morning route took me to anyone in town that had ordered something then on to Ferrum, Callaway and Boones Mill in that order.  Then I would head to the warehouse in Roanoke.

One particular morning I was heading towards Ferrum on 40 and was coming up on the intersection of Scuffling Hill Road, Six Mild Post Road and 40.  If I remember correctly there was not a stop light there yet.  There was a car with it's signal on wanting to turn left onto Scuffling Hill.  Rather than sitting behind that car and waiting my turn my brilliant idea was to get into the right turning lane and just go straight on through and keep on getting it on 40.  

Idiot me wasn't looking in the rear view mirror and didn't realize there was a Virginia state trooper driving right behind me at the time.  Doh! (cue the Homer Simpson voice).  As soon as I got through the intersection immediately his lights came on.  He came to the door of my S-10 and just asked "where are you going in such a hurry?"  I really didn't have a good answer so I just told him I was going to my next stop in Ferrum.  He talked to me for a little bit about the reason for those turning lanes and how I could have hit someone if there had been someone coming from the other direction.  

But for whatever reason he did not give me a ticket.  To this day I'm still not sure why he didn't.  Should he have?  Probably so.  He just let me off with a warning.

Now, I think my first stop in Ferrum was a auto shop right in "downtown" Ferrum behind the post office.  I don't remember the name.  But when I got there the owner said he had a message for me to call NAPA back in town.  I was like "cccrrraaappp".  I already knew what this was going to be about because they rarely tried to contact me when I was on my route.  

I got on the phone and the whole office was listening in and just started cracking up when I explained the whole situation.  They knew all about it before I got to Ferrum!!!  Keep in mind that this time was way before cell phones had even been thought of (not even the infamous bag phone) so I'm still not sure who had let them know I had been pulled over.  

The trooper had talked about patience to me that day.  Strangely enough I have always carried that with me.  I don't really know any other way to be other than patient.  

It makes no sense to me to be in a run to go everywhere or go as fast as you possibly can just to say you did or that you were the first one to get somewhere (unless you are actually in a race car). 

I know this is probably an extremely overused quote in life, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Life goes fast enough as it is.  Just enjoy the ride. 

I've tried so hard to instill this way of thinking with my kids and with my photography business.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  

What was your most memorable or favorite job?

Message me and let me know!

Jonathan

Mess E Photos

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