Happy Labor Day

In honor of this day set aside in honor of the labor movement in the United States (and thanks to the inspiration from my friend John Williams of WGN Radio), I've decided to explore the different jobs I've had over the years, beginning tonight with my first actual job ever.

Job #1:  Newspaper Assembly

I like to joke that my first ever job was in journalism.  In reality, it wasn't.  What I was lucky enough to do was to stuff together Sunday copies of the Chicago Tribune inside of a windowless warehouse in Countryside, Illinois.  The job started in the evening and went until you were done.  But you couldn't beat the pay...two cents per paper.  Nothing like being paid by the piece instead of the hour to make a 15 year old kid work faster.  By the end of the night, my hands were so covered in ink that it took around 30 minutes to wash them clean.  With all of these perks, you'll probably be shocked to find out that I only lasted three weeks.

Stay tuned for the next installment when I will regale you with the story of how I ran the cleanest dish-washing station in all of Brookfield, Illinois (and that's the health department talking, not just me bragging).