“I don’t want you flipping burgers.”
My father told me that once.
We never saw eye to eye on employment. He wasn’t of the generation that got a job and kept it forever but he was of the generation that definitely only had one career and you switched jobs maybe twice, anything more and you were practically a hobo. He never understood it when I expressed anything but dedication to a career.
His concern for me, like all parents’ concern for their children, was, what are you going to do? Not only for money but with your life? And that’s when he said it, “I don’t want you flipping burgers.”
He just wanted more for me. I get it. And on some level, I think that he was proud of sending me to an expensive private university and he didn’t want to see me squander that.
That mindset always gave me a lot of anxiety, though, especially since the workforce I entered was not the one he was ever in. I was laid from my first job after two months and I’ve been laid off at least two more times since. And when I stayed at a job for four years, I was told that I was “off the market” and I should really move around more.
All this is a preamble to me saying that I think it’s awesome that Geoffrey Owens was working at Trader Joe’s.
For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here it is. Geoffrey Owens is the actor who played Elvin on The Cosby Show. He’s also since done some parts on It’s Always Sunny… He recently had his picture snapped, though, working as a cashier at Trader Joe’s.
This obviously seems like a fall from grace and a sad or funny one depending on how you look at it. But, man, sometimes you just gotta work for a paycheck.
The life of an actor is hard. I think that the public perception is that successful actors, the ones who seem to do project after project after project, have a career because they’re talented and anyone who falls short of being constantly employed as an actor must not be any good.
I don’t think that’s true. Talent is abundant, careers ebb and flow, and it’s a lot more random than we think.
But let’s assume the worst. Let’s assume that Geoffrey Owens sucks as an actor. That being the case, he got off his ass and got a job. When it came down to it, he wasn’t too proud to flip burgers (as the old man might say).
I’m constantly analyzing my own life (if that wasn’t apparent, this must be your first time at my blog – welcome, I’m Rob) and wondering if I’ve made the right choices and wondering what success is. Deep in the recesses of my brain, I’ve always felt like a failure for not being a doctor or a lawyer or a C-something-O, or a VP of Brand Marketing Strategy Market Branding.
Where did I internalize that stuff from? My hometown? My peers? My parens? Is this just secretly how I judge people?*
I’m honestly worried that I wouldn’t be able to get a job at Trader Joe’s if I ever needed it. I’m pretty unenthusiastic about stuff sometimes and people like employees with some pep. I went to the group interview for a floor job at an Apple store and didn’t get a second interview. My friend at Apple said there must have been a mistake, he made some calls, got me a second interview, and didn’t get a third. I doubt I could be a server. I could maybe be a bartender or barista but there are a lot of experienced people out there who do those things.
Without web development, I’d be screwed, so, good for Geoffrey Owens. And I guess Tyler Perry wants to cast him in something now. So, just keep moving forward and who knows what can happen?
(Hey first time, reader, it’s Rob again. I’m usually much more cynical but I was feeling a kind of optimistic, Hallmark ending today. If you come back, I’ll be far more sarcastic, guaranteed.)
