I worked at a rest stop along the thruway throughout high school and beyond (about 6 years), and it was a blast. The staff was essentially 4-6 of my best friends, depending on the time. We’d hang, shoot the ***** and do a bunch of dumb stuff.
One night after our particular donut shop closed, we were to dispose of (not take, my god, that’d be stealing) all of the remaining baked goods. We played “horse” in the garbage cans with the donuts and muffins and ultimately ended up playing dodgeball with them. The manager walked in, and just kinda stared at the aftermath, told us to clean it up, shook his head and moved on. That was the kind of business that was being run. It was incompetent and complacent management dealing with teenage kids who didn’t give a rats arse about the company.
Years later, I put in my two weeks with the rest stop and on my last day they had me unloading trucks into the walk in cooler and deep freezer. I actually loved this part of the job. It was a common prank to occasionally cut the bottom of a box open. For example, you might slit the packaging tape on the bottoms of the box to 650 plastic barbecue dip containers. Then when “Bill” goes to restock the sauces, the dumb effer is picking up sauce packets in the cooler.
My last day, I pulled this trick on a ton of the boxed items in the cooler, including the bagged cheeses that were used at one of the fast food joints. Turns out that bad boy was accidentally sliced a bit too deep, and when it was picked up, broke completely open and spilled everywhere. It was a mess. I saw the pictures. If I hadn’t already quit, I’m sure I’d be fired.
I could bore you with more stories, like the time a guy I worked with was tackled through the bathroom wall or the other time an old man died in the lobby. It was a weird time in my life, and at the end of the day it was just a job. Still, I can’t help but crack a big smile every time I drive by that damn place