Youth at Work

Many youth today that I spoke with in the past five years are solid and smart individuals with colorful character traits.  After spending my early twenties moving quickly in and out of career books, guides, and counselors I have found many of my answers right from the heart of working side by side youth.  In 2004-5 I worked at Schererville, IN game room where birthday parties where held for toddlers and young teens.

Many arcade games and prizes were available lighting up the center where I worked behind the glass counter of the ticket counter.  As the youth around me collected their prizes with tickets and parents hustled about keeping an eye on the youngest of their groups, I was happy to climb and reach up for the prizes on the shelves and all the trinkets and candy prizes in the glass case under me.  It was fun to see their little faces full of excitement with smiles stretched to their ears. 

The staff with me were around my age 21-25,  and I was 24 years of age.  The maturity of the staff as they told me about their classes, sports teams, and motherhood experiences showed me the responsibility and bright future for them all in these fast changing times.  I felt comfortable to talk about my interests in journal writing/creative short story writing with Luke who was my supervisor.

He walked into the arcade to start work at the same time every day, with the same confident walk with his eyes straight ahead, and his hooded jacket with the long hair on one side only.  He gave direction with assertiveness and talked about his new born daughter, his interests in becoming a writer, and what glee he found in the changes of becoming a father.  John and his sister who worked on Wednesdays together with me were very adorable with their youthful curiosity for their classes and talents always wanting to know more.

John played the violin, and his sister played the flute.  Every Wednesday they came from band practice to work the night shift at the arcade.  I continued to write down everything in my journal of my day at the arcade.   John and his sister, twins, hung around stayed close to the supervisors most of the time while Kyle the very tall athletic kid with the serious face that rarely smiled paced back and forth sweeping and helping keep the tickets filled in the games.  The mornings were quiet and cold from the long winter nights in northwest Indiana and it took time to get the heat up and running.  Bill the maintenance guy there was the only one who was with me.  He usually chained smoked in the tool room and tuned up all the games before each day.  Bill used to work at the casino in Atlantic City on the Boardwalk for ten years before he started at the arcade.  When he retired he moved to Indiana from Atlantic City with his wife.

I ate pizza, and candy most of the time and wiped the finger prints from the games each hour.  The lights were bright and made the place hot.  I enjoyed climbing the rock wall.  It was a smaller version than you would find at your local sports retail store.  The youths around me who were mostly still in high school or just starting college were bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to jump when you told them how high.

"I know one man of really brilliant parts who has not
the ability to manage a business of his own, and yet
who is absolutely worthless to any one else, because
he carries with him constantly the insane suspicion
that his employer is oppressing, or intending to
oppress him. He cannot give orders; and he will not
receive them. Should a message be given him to take
to Garcia, his answer would probably be, "Take it
yourself."    Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard.

They were keen, loyal, honest, and hard-working with homework and their parents on their minds.
I enjoyed working with them and serving the teens from behind the counter while catching the pool tournaments on the television on the wall that summer and fall season.  I'll never forget as it closed down the beaming glow in young Denise's eyes as she was getting ready to marry her best friend, and the group pictures of the staff at after work parties on the cork board above the cash box.  My manager Mark moved to another state where he owned another arcade and took his family with him.  I was thankful and delighted to have him as a reference for my next career experience in hospitality.