The Way the World Works

Lessons on living, temporarily

I’ve almost always and only been a writer, so whenever I see those online quizzes where you list your previous occupations, I know I’d be a dud. I would not be the person who would rattle off a lot of astonishing jobs I’ve done. I was never a chicken sexer or a blackjack dealer or a rodeo clown. Besides my writing, my one major professional stint was as a restaurant server, in college and immediately thereafter. I was pretty good at it. I was not particularly fast or accurate, and I did flip the occasional ribeye onto the floor, but I was personable without seeming fishy, which is an achievement. But then I lucked into a writing job in 1979 and that was that. I used to declare myself hard-core unemployable because I don’t have skills beyond writing. At least I am a crackerjack typist and I am quite proud of my words-per-minute.

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

But before that, when I was in high school, I worked as a Kelly Girl. Does that company still exist? Kelly Girls were temps, dispatched to companies that had a brief need for someone in a position that usually required a minimal amount of training. Typically, you were sent somewhere that needed someone to answer phones or type letters, while the regular receptionist was on vacation. I loved being a Kelly Girl. It provided me with glimpses of alternative universes, a chance to dip into a subculture. In a way, it was the training ground for what I do as a writer.