“Mr.________”—memories of the past

Awhile ago, Katharine Hepburn’s name came up in conversation, which led to a discussion of my telemarketing job for a local portrait department while I was living in Tucson. I was about 21 at the time. My job was to call people to tell them that they could win a free 8 x 10 if they were able to answer a question concerning the Oscar winner for Best Actress in 1969. People probably didn’t know that there was a tie that year and that both Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn won. The people I was calling had a 66% chance of winning the 8 x10. So where is this story going, you ask? Well nowhere really, except that telemarketing wasn’t for me and I proceeded to seek another job…….enter “Mr. ____.” I'll refrain from using his name (if that was even his name). He was an older man. He said he owned a construction company and that he built additions onto homes and such. He had advertised for an “assistant” in the newspaper (when we still looked for jobs in newspapers). His office was within walking distance of our apartment which was definitely a plus……..On the day of my interview, I walked over to his office, which was barren with the exception of a few old pieces of furniture and a very old typewriter that looked as if it were from the 1920s…….During the interview, “Mr. _______” asked me a few basic interview questions, and then told me I needed to take a typing test…….ha ha ha ha ha…….guess what? I passed…..He even immediately hired me to start the next day. I arrived at 8:00 am the next day. The morning’s task was for me to walk around a neighborhood and place flyers in people’s doors to advertise his construction services. In the afternoon the goal was to go and check out the progress of a current addition project. It sure was a long drive to the site. Along the way, “Mr. ______” began telling me about all the trips we would be taking…to Las Vegas… to Mexico… etc….. It became very apparent that his definition of “assistant” and my definition of “assistant” were two completely different things. Needless to say, I did not show up for “work” the next day. I didn’t get paid either.