. . .old memories are a strange thing. Time can pass and you don't even remember something that happened years and years ago. Today, I looked at the buttons running down a shirt I was hand washing, and I suddenly remembered my first job. Usually when I think about my first job, I remember working as an usher at a movie theater. . .but that's another whole story. For some reason, looking at the buttons on this shirt reminded me that I really had a job before that, working at Sew and So.
Sew and So was a store in Mission Valley, and I had just turned 18 years old. Back in the day, a kid couldn't get a job until he or she was 18 years old, and finally I had my own car (another interesting story), and was independent, but in need of gas money. I don't even remember why I sought employment at the button store, but I was hired. Besides babysitting, I had never worked anywhere, and was excited about the possibility of earning a paycheck.
Sew and So not only sold buttons, but it was a specialized store that sold everything needed for making clothes, hats, and accessories. Walls were filled with small drawers, and enchanting items were displayed. If a customer was looking for a nice set of buttons, then this was the place to come. Brides preparing for their big day would rush into the store to buy the items needed for their wedding veil.
What did I know about dressmaking, hatmaking, and general making of anything? Although my mother was an excellent seamstress, and at one time had a business making beautiful velveteen dresses, I, on the other hand, never learned much about sewing. In the 7th grade I took a required clothing class, and brought home the skirt that I was making and asked my mother to show me how to sew in the zipper. She opened her Singer sewing machine, and before I knew what had happened, she had the zipper sewn in within moments. "But mom, how am I ever going to learn to do it myself if you don't show me?" But she waved me away, and said she would teach me another day. 45 years later, and I still don't know how to sew a zipper into a garment, or even a straight line to make a seam.
Anyhow, I worked at Sew and So for probably a month or two before I found another job at the Cinerama Theater in Mission Valley (no longer there). Not knowing much about sewing made me very uncomfortable, especially when I was supposed to be helping customers. Keeping busy, cleaning up, and occasionally sorting stock was boring and dull. I loved getting my first paycheck, but after that, I hated going to work.
While I have lots of buttons today, part of my scrapbooking stash, the only real value of buttons that I can see, is that without them, my body would be exposed to undesireable staring and gawking. Now tell me, who wants to see an old lady's crotch, or breasts???!!!!!
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