It was only
10 miles from the store,
But the day would be a long one,
Hot, as I recall, but that could the sweat,
Pulling behind the station, the offices,
Getting ourselves ready, parking out back.
Opening the
box outside before the work,
A mountain of carboard building, discarded,
The challenge, the climbing, the team effort,
A five-drawer fireproof file cabinet, heavy,
Up the steep three flights of stairs…
The boss
smiling ear to ear, laughing,
His unfiltered smoke burning,
Held between his fingers,
Stained with tobacco,
Pacing back and forth.
Watching our
crew pour out,
our mouths open, agape, muttering,
Laughing, snickering, smiling,
As we stared at the ancient stairs,
The hard struggle before us…
The main
thing I remember,
As my memory serves me,
As the newest, the youngest,
Was that I was at the bottom,
pushing straight up…
Perched on
the antique dolly,
The edge of the file cabinet
Driving into my shoulder,
One step at a time, pausing,
As we slowly climbed those stairs…
-----------------
Edited February 7, 2024
I was at the bottom – v2
January 27,
2024
I was at the bottom
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/01/i-was-at-bottom.html
Using the same dolly referenced in the poem below, pushing a
“Vintage General Fireproofing Co. Industrial
5-Drawer “Allsteel” File Cabinet”
(over 400 pounds)
up the narrow three flights of stairs
(https://www.vermontpublic.org/inside-vpr/2016-06-10/staff-spotlight-betty-smith-mastaler)
at the Vermont Public Radio offices,
https://www.vermontpublic.org/history
https://www.vermontpublic.org/programs/2017-08-15/vprs-founding-mother-on-the-stations-start-and-the-future-of-radio
either in 1977 or 1978,
(They were first setting up operations August 13, 1977.)
Windsor House,
https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VT-01-WS39
57 US-5
Windsor, Vermont 05089
&
Edited January 27, 2024
The warrens in the attic – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-warrens-in-attic-v2.html
&
The hand truck dolly I reference is closest to a
“Hamilton Hand Truck Dolly Antique Vintage, wood and metal”
(the handles were curved like this but the blade was a little shallower;
not quite like a barrel dolly)
&
I just looked online at the images of the exterior of the building.
Very little has changed how it looks on the outside.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3711279,-72.339079,3a,75y,291.17h,112.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9B6-BG8zWEVPpMNCQNhYXg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu
&
March 26, 2021
The warrens in the attic
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-warrens-in-attic.html
4th floor attic
Kimball’s Office Supply Store
65 Pleasant Street
Claremont, NH 03743
1976 to 1978
when I worked there as a stockboy
But the day would be a long one,
Hot, as I recall, but that could the sweat,
Pulling behind the station, the offices,
Getting ourselves ready, parking out back.
A mountain of carboard building, discarded,
The challenge, the climbing, the team effort,
A five-drawer fireproof file cabinet, heavy,
Up the steep three flights of stairs…
His unfiltered smoke burning,
Held between his fingers,
Stained with tobacco,
Pacing back and forth.
our mouths open, agape, muttering,
Laughing, snickering, smiling,
As we stared at the ancient stairs,
The hard struggle before us…
As my memory serves me,
As the newest, the youngest,
Was that I was at the bottom,
pushing straight up…
The edge of the file cabinet
Driving into my shoulder,
One step at a time, pausing,
As we slowly climbed those stairs…
Edited February 7, 2024
I was at the bottom – v2
I was at the bottom
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/01/i-was-at-bottom.html
Using the same dolly referenced in the poem below, pushing a
“Vintage General Fireproofing Co. Industrial
5-Drawer “Allsteel” File Cabinet”
(over 400 pounds)
up the narrow three flights of stairs
(https://www.vermontpublic.org/inside-vpr/2016-06-10/staff-spotlight-betty-smith-mastaler)
at the Vermont Public Radio offices,
https://www.vermontpublic.org/history
https://www.vermontpublic.org/programs/2017-08-15/vprs-founding-mother-on-the-stations-start-and-the-future-of-radio
either in 1977 or 1978,
(They were first setting up operations August 13, 1977.)
Windsor House,
https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VT-01-WS39
57 US-5
Windsor, Vermont 05089
&
Edited January 27, 2024
The warrens in the attic – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-warrens-in-attic-v2.html
&
The hand truck dolly I reference is closest to a
“Hamilton Hand Truck Dolly Antique Vintage, wood and metal”
(the handles were curved like this but the blade was a little shallower;
not quite like a barrel dolly)
&
I just looked online at the images of the exterior of the building.
Very little has changed how it looks on the outside.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3711279,-72.339079,3a,75y,291.17h,112.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9B6-BG8zWEVPpMNCQNhYXg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu
&
March 26, 2021
The warrens in the attic
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-warrens-in-attic.html
4th floor attic
Kimball’s Office Supply Store
65 Pleasant Street
Claremont, NH 03743
1976 to 1978
when I worked there as a stockboy
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
poem, poetry, Claremont, New Hampshire, childhood, job, stockboy, stock boy, retail, work, sweat, freight Kimballs, freight, Vermont Public Radio, file cabinet, stairs,
#poem #poetry #Kimballs #PleasantSt #Claremont #NewHampshire #childhood #job #stockboy #retail #work #sweat #memories #freight #VermontPublic #filecabinet #stairs
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