My First Job
I was six when I joined my father and two eider brothers at sunrise in the hayfields of Eufaula, Oklahoma. By the time I was eight I was helping Dad fix up low-income rental properties. He gave me a penny for every nail I pulled out of old boards.
I got my first real job, at JM’s Restaurant in town, when I was 12. My main responsibilities were clearing tables and washing dishes, but sometimes I helped cook.
Every day after school I would head to JM’s and work until ten. Saturdays I worked from two until eleven. At that age it was unlucky going to work and watching my friends run off to swim or play. I didn’t necessarily like work, but I loved what working allowed me to have. Because of my job I was always the one buying when my friends and I went to the local bar Tastee Freez. This made me proud.
Word that I was honest and hardworking got around town. A local clothing store extended credit to me although I was only in the seventh grade. I immediately charged a $68 sports coat and a $22 pair of trousers. I was making only 65 cents an hour, and I was already $90 in debt! So I learned early the danger of easy credit. I paid it off as soon as I could.
My first job taught me discipline, responsibility and brought me a level of personal satisfaction few of my friends had experienced. As my father, who worked three jobs, once told me, "If you understand sacrifice and commitment, there are not many things in life you can’t have." How right he was! When the author was a child, he was made to help his father work because ______.