Bobby Socks

There's nothing more stressful then starting a new job especially a job in which your responsible for various things like making a pair of 300.00 dollar jeans someone was stupid enough to buy and making them look great on them.

I on the other hand have never done any of this before. Sure I've sewn on a machine before and made stuff but never had I ever been responsible to do something with alterations and to make them look perfect until I got my job at the sewing and alterations shop that I work at.

It's been about a month now and it's not as stressful as it was before. I cut up Tommy Bahama, Banana Republic, and Bebe without even thinking twice about it. Of course this wouldn't be as successful if I hadn't had my teacher/manager Janet who is about 60 and have been sewing since she was in diapers and insists on putting hard candy in the lobby for customers.

Work between Janet and me is pretty standard, we listen to the Jazz station, make small talk, and she yells at me periodically if I forget to do something which is about every day, numerous times.

But I really like it...well not the yelling part..that would be weird.

The other day Janet dropped the "this is my social agenda" bomb on me as I was doing a jean hem the very first of any political talks we've ever had.
"Do you like that Al Franken?"she asks.
I sigh knowing politics go no where good but I don't lie and say, " No..not really but I don't like Norm Coleman either...I think they both are kind of lame"
"Yea" she steams the iron, " Norm Coleman did a lot of things in his first year that I didn't agree with but that Al Franken......"
She trails off each word getting quieter then the next " I just think that he will be easily persuaded but all the radical agenda groups like pro abortion groups and ........"
She stops talking and I ignore her and then I switch the topic
"Hey do you ever grow gladiolas?"
And she switches the topic to " You only charged this woman 18.00 to put in a new zipper in a pair of lined pants? that should be 24 DOLLARS!!!"
and everything is fine again.

Later that night when I was thinking about what she had said I thought it was funny that we could get a long. Janet obviously has no idea that I'm as far away from a Conservative perspective as I am from China. I'm as open as the sea. You want to make pot legal? Sign me up! Legalize Prostitution give me a pen! Let same sex marriage happen?You've got it! let mothers make their own decision? you bet your bottom dollar!

If Janet knew this and we didn't have to work together we probably wouldn't be friends. I'm not sure what would happen if she did, but something tells me that after a month of yelling at me and talking to me, and teaching me stuff she would have an open ear. I know for a fact she would never be persuaded but she would listen.

So today while ripping seams I realized really we can all get along as long as we can just respect that no one is right and no one is wrong. Just all a matter of opinions. I don't know anything really and Janet doesn't know anything unless it comes to hemming pants, sewing buttons, working a serger, doing euro hems on jeans, writing up tickets, telling customers prices, altering dresses...................