Memoirs Part 6

After one year in the seminary, I decided to quit and finished my last three years of high school at Queen Anne High. Catholic schools were much stricter than public schools. Much of what they were teaching when I entered high school, I had already learned the previous year. I got lazy with my studies and homework. I hung out with guys who thought bowling and shooting pool was more important than studying. Trying to get into college at that time was very difficult. The Vietnam war was going on and everybody wantedto go to college to get a deferment from the military draft. Since my grades were mediocre, I wasn’t able to enter the few schools I applied for.

I had a part-time job at the IGA supermarket on Queen Anne Hill. Myfriend’s father was the manager and Ken Giles was the co-owner. He and another person also owned an IGA near Woodland Park Zoo. My friend told me to talk with Ken about getting a job. After the interview, he told me that he would call me if he needed someone. A week or so later, my friend asked me if I got the job. I told him that I hadn’t gotten a call. He said I should go back and ask again. I did but with the same results. A couple of weeks later my friend told me to ask again. I was very reluctant, but I went to see Ken again. This time he hired me. Months later he told me that he didn’t really need another worker, but since I was so persistent, he felt that I would work hard. He was giving me pay raises one after another. He told me not to cash my paycheck in the store since he didn’t want others to see how much I was making. He was the greatest boss I ever had. I learned so much from him. After high school, I worked there full time for about one year.