For a couple of years, I worked the graveyard shift, cleaning kitchens and toilets at the world's most famous amusement park. Eventually, I hung it up and handed in my uniforms. On my final night, I tagged the park's finest restaurant and told a trusted coworker, "Find it and add your name to the wall someday."
“I doubt they’ll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.”
— Brooks Hatlen from The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
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Another night, a couple of my buddies and I were assigned the mother of all restroom details. Our shift included cleaning over 80 toilets, as well as all the restroom sinks, mirrors, and tile floors! I couldn’t blame my coworkers for getting pissed when we found only the smallest size rubber gloves. It didn't matter. I’d have wrapped my hands in plastic trash bags to finish our assignment and get out. Pulling on a snug pair of miniature gloves, I announced, "I like my gloves like my rubbers, SMALL!"
Dead quiet. One fellow turned and gave me a sideways horse-eye. The other fellow's shoulders started convulsing with laughter. “Yup!" I added, "I get me the Mini-Magnums!”
Hey, whatever it takes to get through the night.
Dead quiet. One fellow turned and gave me a sideways horse-eye. The other fellow's shoulders started convulsing with laughter. “Yup!" I added, "I get me the Mini-Magnums!”
Hey, whatever it takes to get through the night.
The most boring tasks can enlighten. In the meditative silence of night, my mind would unravel, and long-forgotten thoughts would emerge. It's 3 am. I'd been spraying foam, scrubbing down, and hosing down the greasiest kitchen in the park.
A single moment of recollection bubbled up. I'm six years old and my entire family is gathered in the glow of our TV. We're watching The Wonderful World of Color. This episode shows what goes on in the park after closing. A custodian is wielding a leaf-blower on Main Street, blowing confetti out of the trees. My 6-year-old self made a wish, “When I grow up, I want to do THAT!!”
It was a moment of pure Zen, making sense of why I ever took this job. For the record, I have used a leaf-blower in the park, and it's one more thing off my bucket list.
A single moment of recollection bubbled up. I'm six years old and my entire family is gathered in the glow of our TV. We're watching The Wonderful World of Color. This episode shows what goes on in the park after closing. A custodian is wielding a leaf-blower on Main Street, blowing confetti out of the trees. My 6-year-old self made a wish, “When I grow up, I want to do THAT!!”
It was a moment of pure Zen, making sense of why I ever took this job. For the record, I have used a leaf-blower in the park, and it's one more thing off my bucket list.
