Never looked for a job in my life....

When I look back across the half Century plus of my existence at the jobs I have had it strikes me as funny that I have never gone looking for a job. My first job was, as I mentioned in a previous post, Stonington Subaru. My brother got me that job. The next job was handed me when I was visiting my father at a Groton theater. I was there and the manager asked if I wanted to be an usher, that lead to being sort of the security guard for the managers office, plus it brought in an apprentice projectionist license and stage hand status. Back then all the theaters and Drive-ins were Union,  the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.  This was pretty much a part time job but paid really well. We would transfer the Movie theater to a stage theater when necessary, move Orchestras in and out,  work lights and curtains and such. It paid as follows, to work an orchestra the driver of the tractor trailer would unpack instruments and wardrobe trunks and place them on dolly's, we would push the dolly down the ramp, into the theater and park them, that paid $35.00. The reverse move at the end of the night was the same, push the dolly's out of the building and up the ramp where the driver would stack and pack the truck,another $35.00. Working the curtains and lights for the show paid $50.00. it was referred to as 35/50/35.  Working the "middle" (lights, curtains, etc). had it's other benefits. When a show moves in to a theater the trunks are stood on end and opened up forming a room of trunk walls, this gave the orchestra and performers (ballets and such) places to change in private. The stage lights were controlled from a panel located against a wall up near the ceiling on a steel platform accessed by a ladder, this way the stagehand could see down onto the stage and pit so as to control all the features at the correct time. This perch had the benefit of being above everyone else and since the "dressing room" trunks had no roof it also allowed the technicians a damned good view as the performer changed.

One night at 1 am, I received a call from the local's Business Manager,  he said, "Call some of your friends and get over to the Guarde Theater, they moved out a show but can't get the screen to come down". At 1 am I wasn't about to "call any of my friends" so I got in my car and drove to the theater. The screen is a large box essentially, it is raised up and down by ropes and pulleys. Being jammed or stuck would usually mean climbing up about three stories on a steel ladder against the back wall of the theater, then climbing through a hole in a steel open rail floor. Then spending a couple hours untangling, cutting, splicing, or repairing shredded tangled ropes. The worst part was that the hole to access that floor wasn't actually against the wall, it was about two feet out, so the last section of ladder leaned out from the all to the hole. This meant that you were hanging backwards against the drop. The move was usually accomplished by hooking one's lower leg around  the back of the ladder to stay next to it, then reaching up and pulling yourself clear of the ladder and onto the floor. Going down was an exercise in ass pucker, you lowered yourself through the hole with nothing below you, then reached around with your leg until you hooked the ladder and pulled yourself over. At the last minute you switched from supporting yourself with the floor to reaching through to the ladder then dropping down onto the ladder.
Not really all that much fun.

This night though was another story, I parked the car and walked in and onto backstage, I asked the stage boss what the problem was, he told me no one had been up above yet but it must really be jammed up. he said they untied the rope and the screen wouldn't drop. (counter weighted ropes meant once untied the screen drifted slowly and smoothly down). He said that even with three guys pulling on the rope the screen wouldn't budge. I looked up at the screen, then at the rope and asked, "Did you untie the second rope?" (backup safety line in case a line fails). the Stage Boss replied, "Second rope?"  I walked five feet over to the rope bar (multiple ropes attached to lights and rigs were tied to cleats on a wooden bar which ran along the wall, rather like a belaying pin system on a ship)

I un-looped the rope and the screen drifted slowly, smoothly and peacefully to the floor. "Anything else you need?" I asked. I drove home.  

I received a $500.00 check that Friday.