Show Time

When I was young I tried drinking beer a couple of times and loathed it. Joe and I snuck a couple of Dad's Rainiers out to the horse shed in the horse pasture I grew up next to and tried them. Out shivering on a cold evening, maybe 14 years old, whispering with Joe as we opened the bottles and sipped from them. We tried to hide our disgust but it was obvious neither of us could stand them. Blech!

Years later I was working at the Rocky Horror Picture Show, selling 800 tickets in 50 minutes on a Friday in August, drenched in sweat on a hot summer night locked into a little glass booth out on the sidewalk on 45th.

I had my left hand on the ticket machine buttons and my right hand held the money - a wad of ones and fives. I had my money tray on my lower right side, ticket machine a big metal monstrosity in front of me (you kind of straddled it with your legs) and the FM radio's stereo speakers on the floor pointing up at me blasting away.

I had a system: the ones in my right hand were on the visible side where I could count them off quickly with my thumb and the fives were hidden behind the ones. When I needed a five I reached with my left hand and pulled it off the bottom of the stack.

As the customer stepped up and indicated the number of tickets I'd push the appropriate button with my left hand and start counting change out with my right, making additional passes with the left to the money tray to deal with tens and twenties if needed. As the cash piled up I would count up bundles of 20 ones and 20 fives while waiting for the customers to get to the window slot and tell me how many tickets they wanted. Eventually enough would pile up that I could bundle 20 twenties too. I'd fold the bundles of 20 and put them in the money tray.

By the time I sold out in 50 minutes I'd have the first pass of counting 90% or more done with a few left to count. I quickly recount my bundles, count and recout the loose money, fill in the paperwork and add it all up and sign off quickly, within the first 15 or 20 minutes of the doors opening.

As I was feeling parched, tired, and also satisfied - the numbers all came out correctly and the hard part of my evening was over - officer Bob came in with a trash can full of beer. He pulled open the fridge and started cramming in bottles and cans. As I finished and signed the paperwork he winked at me and went on back out of the office. I wandered over to the fridge and decided to try a beer one more time. There were several different types, so I tried one of the fancier looking types. It was good and cold, the RHPS fan must have bought it just before coming to the theater. It was so good it amazed me.

A good cold beer when you're hot sure hit the spot. One of the many lessons I learned at the Neptune.