1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: On the Job is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: Express Employment Professionals as a leading staffing provider that employs 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: nearly six hundred thousand people annually across more than eight 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: hundred franchise locations in the US, Canada, and South Africa. 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: Our long term goal is at the heart of our 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: company's mission to help as many people as possible find 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: good jobs. By helping as many clients as possible find 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: good people. It takes more than just online searches to 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: land a job. It takes real people who will identify 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: your talents, a person invested in your success. Express Employment 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: Professionals understands what it takes to land a new position 12 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: at a top employer or start a new career in 13 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: today's job market. Express Noose Jobs, Get to no Express, 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: Go to expresspros dot com. Welcome to on the Job. 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: This season, we're bringing you stories about people finding their 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: professional stride by virtue of who they know, whether it's 17 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: breathing new life into an age old profession, taking the 18 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: reins in a family business, forging your own path with 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: a new idea, or landing the perfect job doing something 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: you'd never before even considered. Avery Thompson grew up in 21 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: Long Island. Today he's a writer and radio producer, but 22 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: has past is fraught with jobs that spanned the globe 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: and made him into the person he is today. He 24 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: was a ski lift operator in Colorado, a line cook 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: in Zurich. He's bailed Hey in New Hampshire Today. A 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: story from his early life as he pursued his dream 27 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: of being a filmmaker. Like most twenty year olds, I 28 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: had delusions grandeur. My particular delusion was that I was 29 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: going to be a film director, and not just any 30 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: film director. I wanted to be the next Orson Welles, 31 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: but with a little the show. Besides some zany no 32 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: budget student films. Believe it or not, no studio had 33 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: yet handed me a blank check. So if I intended 34 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: to direct my next film, I would need to fund 35 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: it with my own money. In other words, I needed 36 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: a summer job. I quit golf caddying after two days. 37 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: FedEx didn't think I was overnight box order material to 38 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: work at the local movie theater would have been too 39 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: large a slice of humble pie, and so I called 40 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: my friend Matt, another film buff, and complained about how 41 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: the world didn't recognize my genius, how my talents were 42 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: being squandered looking for a job. Then Matt said, well, 43 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: we can work for my brother. He owns a landscape 44 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: in coompanying the Hamptons. The Hamptons, I repeated. The following Monday, 45 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: Matt and I talked about movies for the whole two 46 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: hour drive out to the Hamptons, and as the roads 47 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: gave way to leafy lanes and mansions rose above tall hedges, 48 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: I knew we were exactly where I needed to be. 49 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: Here were the people that would change my life. These 50 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: people had taste, they had class connections, but most importantly, 51 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: they had the money I needed to direct my masterpiece. 52 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: I could already see myself smoking a cigar and yelling action, 53 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: so you can imagine my shock when we pulled up 54 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: to a barn and were told by Matt's brother to 55 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: get in the back of a pickup truck with a 56 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: bunch of weather worn Latino men. For the first few weeks, 57 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,799 Speaker 1: Matt and I met no celebrities, We attended no parties. 58 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: We worked like dogs as rich old ladies eyed us 59 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: suspiciously from curtained windows. We dug trenches, we built fences, 60 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 1: We were told to work faster and talk about Fellini less, 61 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: and all the while no one recognized the geniuses toiling 62 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: in their backyard. No one even brought us lemonade. Despite 63 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: being the future of filmmaking, Matt and I were being 64 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 1: treated like a bunch of day labors, except by our coworkers, 65 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: day labors who didn't appreciate these two pale giants who 66 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: talked about wide angle lenses and stopped every now and 67 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: then to drink water. And worst of all, these co 68 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: workers wouldn't take us to lunch with them. Instead, every day, 69 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: on their way to some secret Latin food layer, Matt 70 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: and I would get dropped off in the village of 71 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: East Hampton, quite possibly the richest postious town in America. 72 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: We're the only thing we could afford was pizza, and 73 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: not even good pizza, because, let's face it wasps don't 74 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: know how to make pizza, so every day we ate 75 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: crappy pizza. And let me tell you, for a New Yorker, 76 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: few things are worse. But one thing sustained me that summer. 77 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,280 Speaker 1: For all the blisters and back aches, I held that 78 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: hope that it was only a matter of time before 79 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: I met the right piece people. One day Jerry Seinfeld 80 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: would need a new walkway, or Robert de Niro would 81 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: need his roses cut back, and somehow I figured that 82 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: would be all it took. But that didn't happen. As 83 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: the weeks wore on, Matt and I talked of films 84 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: less and less. We started crying more and more, and 85 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we 86 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: got the job from hell. Our task was the paint 87 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: a quarter mile fence wedged between two strands of overgrown 88 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: holly bushes. Now, for those of you that don't know, 89 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: holly bushes have little prickly thorns, and as a grown man, 90 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 1: I don't have a problem saying that thorns really hurt. 91 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: So the only way that Matt and I were able 92 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: to paint this fence without blooding our backs was a 93 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: jam a piece of plywood in there, lean against it, 94 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: and brush just in front of us, which worked some 95 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: of the time. When it didn't, if we tripped or 96 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: got a little tired, then the holly bush would shove 97 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: us against the fence that we had just painted, and 98 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: that happened a lot. By lunchtime, Matt and I were 99 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: covered in green paint, I mean covered head to toe. 100 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: And when the truck arrived to pick us up for lunch, 101 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: the Latino guys can't help themselves. They slapped their knees 102 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: and laughed big gold toothed laughs right in our face. 103 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: And then they drop us off in the center of 104 00:07:50,040 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: East Hampton. We'll get back to the story in a second. First, 105 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: a word from Express Employment Professionals. A strong work ethic 106 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: takes pride in a job well done. This is you. 107 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: But to get an honest day's work, you need a callback. 108 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: You need a job. Express Employment Professionals can help. We'll 109 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: connect you to the right company. We're committed to your 110 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: success and never charge a fee to find you a job. 111 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: Express Nose Jobs get to No Express find your location 112 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: at expresspros dot com or on the Express Jobs app. 113 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: And now back to our story. Before we can even 114 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: climb out of the truck, people were staring. Not that 115 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: I blame them. We were two life sized g I. 116 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: Joe figures, and as such, our mission was to reach 117 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: the public restroom to wash this paint off. Except when 118 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: we get there, the paint doesn't come off. And I 119 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 1: want to reiterate, we are covered. Matt who is six 120 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: to four bore an uncanny resemblance to the Jolly Green Giant. 121 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 1: I looked more like Gumby. So Matt called his brother, 122 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: who informed us the paint thinner would take it right off. 123 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: But we were on Main Street in East Hampton, whose 124 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: shops weren't exactly stocked with paint thinner. So then Matt's 125 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: brother says, the gasolene would do the trick. Yeah, Gasolene. 126 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: So Gumby and the Jolly Green Giant go walking through 127 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: a living Jay Crue catalog in search of a gas station. 128 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: Let me tell you, being laughed at by a bunch 129 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: of our day labor co workers was one thing, But 130 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: to be laughed at by people wearing boat shoes and 131 00:09:55,280 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 1: pastel pants, that's a pain that sticks with you. After 132 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: a few blocks, Matt and I find a gas station 133 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:11,079 Speaker 1: and then we start rummaging through the garbage because obviously 134 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: we need something to put the gasoline in. We find 135 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: an empty gatorade bottle beneath a rotten sandwich and then 136 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: pump thirty cents of gas into it, and then we 137 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: pour the gas all over us. And I know what 138 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: you're thinking, that's not a good idea, but This story 139 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: doesn't end with self immolation, well not literally, because as 140 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: Matt and I stand in this parking lot, our bodies 141 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: covered in a toxic smere of gasoline and paint, one 142 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,959 Speaker 1: of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen pulls 143 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: up beside us, and we look up to see a 144 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 1: familiar face, gray Beard round glasses. I'd know that face anywhere. 145 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: That's that's Stephen Stephen. Matt yells at Steven Spielberg, and Matt, 146 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: who now resembles the creature from the Black Lagoon, starts 147 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: running towards the car and screaming at him. Stephen. Now, 148 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: I don't know if Steven Spielberg saw us or not, 149 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: but I do know that he didn't stop. He kept 150 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: right on going. But Stephen didn't go far because down 151 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: the street we see his break lights. Come on, Come on, 152 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: Matt shouts, running back to the pump for more gas. Pump, 153 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 1: more gas. Steven's getting pizza. We can catch him, but 154 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: I don't. I may have been only twenty, but that 155 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: summer I learned that no amount of gasoline would help 156 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: Steven Spielberg or anyone else see through to the genius underneath. Instead, 157 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: I walked over to the little convenience store attached to 158 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: the gas station, bought a Snickers bar for my lunch, 159 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: and I decided screw movies. I'm going to be a 160 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: writer instead. This piece was written by Avery Thompson and 161 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: produced by me Otis Gray. You can find more of 162 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 1: Avery's work at Avery H. Thompson dot com. We'll have 163 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 1: a link over on our website, expresspros dot com slash podcast. 164 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to On the Job, brought to you 165 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: by Express Employment Professionals. Find out more at expresspros dot com. 166 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: This season of On the Job is produced by Audiation 167 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: and dread Seat Ventures. Our executive producer is Sandy Smallens. 168 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: Our producer is Otis Gray. The show is mixed by 169 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: Matt Noble at The Loft in Bronxville, New York. Find 170 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 1: us on iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts. If you liked what 171 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: you heard, please consider rating or reviewing the show on 172 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,439 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. We'll see you next time. 173 00:13:45,520 --> 00:14:03,959 Speaker 1: For more inspiring stories about discovering your life's work, Audiation