Baer Charlton
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Over the years you can do a lot of jobs that you really enjoyed doing. For one reason or another they are "satisfying". But I'm talking about a job that was so "fun" to do, you would gladly (or did) do it for free, just to do it. I'm also not talking about a fun challenge.... just pure unmitigated fun.
I started thinking about this with the two other threads about "strangest" and "customer's have given you". Last night.... OK, so it was this morning about 3AM . . I remembered this little project; and it would qualify as the "strangest gift a customer gave me..... that was pure fun".
A few Christmas seasons back, my boss boss had stepped off a stair just wonderfully the wrong way. Surgery was Dec 3rd. She finally was there to take up some slack on Dec 23 & 4th. It was an unusual Christmas for us in that the rush load was heavy and had started the overtime by early Nov. So by Dec 13th, I was fried.
So about an hour or so before I was going to close the door in self defense, on that Saturday (the first customer and their dog had sniffed me out about 6AM.... and I always open for the dogs because I have a huge jar of treats.... and they all know it.), in walks a very good customer who we had just framed about 10 of her 28 yr old son's wedding photos.
The photos were really great; the kid had done his research on the family Tartan and had kilts and everything made for him and his guys. The gals had done likewise (but hadn't told the guys). Fun family.
So there I was joking around with mom and his sister about dressing funny and not caring if it looked goofy or not; but that they were having fun. [remember, I'm brain fried/dead and running on sheer air in air out.]
So that is when she whipped out this goofy picture of the kid at age 8. He's go the goofiest grin that only a kid can have and still look sane, and he's wearing a Lego's t-shirt. This kid was/is a Lego's freak and there were about 43 custom made boxes at his folks with Lego constructs and then all the boxes that were like #4s with little boxes inside with the different colors ..... blue, yellows, reds..... etc.
For Christmas the folks were going to show up on Christmas morning with the van FULL. [now that he was married and had a house with a garage of his own.] So she had this picture.
He had seen an ad for the new T-shirt during the summer. "All I want for Christmas is a red Lego's T-shirt".
How about ______? Nope.
Maybe also ______? Nope.
So for Christmas, that's all he got. And he was sooooo happy. On Jan 2nd, they had to jump him and hold him down to strip the shirt off his body so she could wash it . . . and he could go get a shower. PeeeeeYew!
"So, how would you frame this?"
I knew instantly.
"It would have to be a frame built out of Lego's, but I don't have any.... and at 16 hours a day here.... I have no time to go shopping."
The sister turned to her mother and says "Mom! The Orphan box."
When you find something, and it doesn't really go anywhere, or you don't know.... into the Orphan box. And yes, when they returned 15 minutes later, it was 3/4 full of every Lego under the sun.... and some that Lego's hasn't been able to identify.
Sunday morning abut 2:45 I was silently laying in the dark, not moving, and not making a sound...... when out of the pitch black came "the voice" next to me.
"Get UP! And go DO what it is you're doing in your head! Because I have to GET UP IN THE MORNING!!!"
15 minutes later, the coffee pot in the shop was going and I was starting to weed through the Orphan box.
Over the next 6 hours, a little giggle or snort would escape... but other than that, it was me, the radio, the photo and the Orphan Box. At about 9:15 on that Sunday I stuck this in the front window and wandered off to a nice breakfast. Fully refreshed, re-energized, and the rest of the season was a breeze. Even the 18 hour days.
I couldn't charge her.... it had been the best gift anybody could have given me at that time.
Not the Lego's "sawtooth hanger". Lego's has no idea what it ever was for.
As the old saying goes: "when it stops being fun, get out".
Well, still finding fun.
I started thinking about this with the two other threads about "strangest" and "customer's have given you". Last night.... OK, so it was this morning about 3AM . . I remembered this little project; and it would qualify as the "strangest gift a customer gave me..... that was pure fun".
A few Christmas seasons back, my boss boss had stepped off a stair just wonderfully the wrong way. Surgery was Dec 3rd. She finally was there to take up some slack on Dec 23 & 4th. It was an unusual Christmas for us in that the rush load was heavy and had started the overtime by early Nov. So by Dec 13th, I was fried.
So about an hour or so before I was going to close the door in self defense, on that Saturday (the first customer and their dog had sniffed me out about 6AM.... and I always open for the dogs because I have a huge jar of treats.... and they all know it.), in walks a very good customer who we had just framed about 10 of her 28 yr old son's wedding photos.
The photos were really great; the kid had done his research on the family Tartan and had kilts and everything made for him and his guys. The gals had done likewise (but hadn't told the guys). Fun family.
So there I was joking around with mom and his sister about dressing funny and not caring if it looked goofy or not; but that they were having fun. [remember, I'm brain fried/dead and running on sheer air in air out.]
So that is when she whipped out this goofy picture of the kid at age 8. He's go the goofiest grin that only a kid can have and still look sane, and he's wearing a Lego's t-shirt. This kid was/is a Lego's freak and there were about 43 custom made boxes at his folks with Lego constructs and then all the boxes that were like #4s with little boxes inside with the different colors ..... blue, yellows, reds..... etc.
For Christmas the folks were going to show up on Christmas morning with the van FULL. [now that he was married and had a house with a garage of his own.] So she had this picture.
He had seen an ad for the new T-shirt during the summer. "All I want for Christmas is a red Lego's T-shirt".
How about ______? Nope.
Maybe also ______? Nope.
So for Christmas, that's all he got. And he was sooooo happy. On Jan 2nd, they had to jump him and hold him down to strip the shirt off his body so she could wash it . . . and he could go get a shower. PeeeeeYew!
"So, how would you frame this?"
I knew instantly.
"It would have to be a frame built out of Lego's, but I don't have any.... and at 16 hours a day here.... I have no time to go shopping."
The sister turned to her mother and says "Mom! The Orphan box."
When you find something, and it doesn't really go anywhere, or you don't know.... into the Orphan box. And yes, when they returned 15 minutes later, it was 3/4 full of every Lego under the sun.... and some that Lego's hasn't been able to identify.
Sunday morning abut 2:45 I was silently laying in the dark, not moving, and not making a sound...... when out of the pitch black came "the voice" next to me.
"Get UP! And go DO what it is you're doing in your head! Because I have to GET UP IN THE MORNING!!!"
15 minutes later, the coffee pot in the shop was going and I was starting to weed through the Orphan box.
Over the next 6 hours, a little giggle or snort would escape... but other than that, it was me, the radio, the photo and the Orphan Box. At about 9:15 on that Sunday I stuck this in the front window and wandered off to a nice breakfast. Fully refreshed, re-energized, and the rest of the season was a breeze. Even the 18 hour days.
I couldn't charge her.... it had been the best gift anybody could have given me at that time.
Not the Lego's "sawtooth hanger". Lego's has no idea what it ever was for.
As the old saying goes: "when it stops being fun, get out".
Well, still finding fun.
