A Sharp Stick in the Eye and The Christmas Bonus

   

     My first job out of college in 1975 was at a place I lovingly refer to as the agar factory. I began just a few weeks before Christmas, and the other ladies on the agar dispensing machines eyed me warily, wondering if I was going to receive the same Christmas bonus as they would be getting. When the bonus checks were distributed, I received $10 and a pep talk from the two owners of the company – Mr. C and Mr. J – the bonuses, they said, reflect the work of the past year – if I worked hard enough the next year, I would receive a much bigger bonus the next Christmas. At home, I showed the check to my Dad, and he said, “It's better than a sharp stick in the eye!”

Selfie with Film circa 1976

     Welcome to my Sharp Stick in the Eye blog. Today is day one, and my goal is to record a memory a day for the entire year of 2015. Some of the entries will be just fragments of memories, some will be anecdotal, and some will be full blown stories. They will not be at all chronological, and some of the entries will be more than one memory hooked together as parallels or intersections observed in my many decades of living

     Aside from being a valuable and rewarding exercise for me, I am hoping that any possible readers might be inspired to reflect on their own lives and realize they have lots of stories too!

     For all of 1976, I worked at the agar factory, putting everything into the job, overtime and Saturdays, and achieving my personal goal of paying off my school loans (student debt was much lower back then). In early December of that year I gave my two weeks' notice, having decided to move on. The other women eyed me warily – why should I get a Christmas bonus if I was leaving? When the bonus checks were distributed, I received..... $10! Mr. C and Mr. J explained that bonuses were supposed to be a motivation for the next year and not a reflection on the past year's performance. My co-workers laughed at me. At home that night, I showed the check to my Dad, and he said, “it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.”

     “Dad!” I exclaimed, “Aside from a frontal lobotomy which is the equivalent of a sharp stick in the eye, anything is better than a sharp stick in the eye!”

     “Exactly,” he replied.

Dad around 1976