| | Working at The Firework Stand
Roy Nelson, the owner of the firework stand chain Nelson's Fireworks, is by far the coolest boss I've ever known. He's down to earth, realistic, and has that rare blend of cool and old that is hard to come by. After the end of the 4'th of July sale period, everyone that worked at the North Texas stands is invited to go to an IHOP in Haltom, where he buys everyone midnight dinner. Something like 40 people come from all over North Texas, the majority of which come from the mega stand I work at.
This "mega stand" as I term it, is comprised of 15 combined Fireworks Stands, each of which are over 15 feet tall with 5 shelves each, housing the full gamut of firework types; from small ground based fun for kids and adults alike, to huge aerial displays. There is a separate section that run's along the wall where the doors are, that has a picket fence and AstroTurf, here customers that are not looking to spend their time picking things one by one, can buy small or massive assortment packages. There are also 2 different large LCD screens that display the fireworks in action one by one so that the customers know what they are getting. When you go to checkout, you can pay in cash or card, and it's all done on computers with full print outs receipts. All of this is housed under a steel ridged building that is insulated and air conditioned, which in the 100+ degree Texas summer heat, is a blessing for both employee's and customers alike.
There's something special about Firework's stands, I can't really place it, but you just feel happy around them. This year was not unlike any other, with exception to my intentions. Every previous year, I aimed to work long and hard and use that money combined with my half off employee discount to collect as many high end fireworks as possible. This year, I wanted to have fun selling thousands of dollars of explosives while getting paid to do it. However, my intentions were to not purchase any fireworks, that held true until about hour 10 of floor sales, and stocking. Then I began to let the thought creep into my head that I would just stock up on a couple boxes of Little Dynamite, since I was running low at my home stash. This was the beginning of what would become a near full repeat of all my previous years.
By the end of the 11'th hour, I had convinced myself that i was low on nearly everything smaller than a Little Dynamite box. When the register clerks announced that midnight was approaching, I abandoned my post and ran to the back room were all the used boxes were kept, I grabbed a modest sized box and moved along the 15 consecutive indoor stands, methodically selecting and ordering the items I felt I was lacking. By the time I made it past the register and out to my car, I realized that I had filled the box to the brim.
With my 50% off employee discount it only cost me $28 ish lucky for me. Anyways, when I got home I unpacked it to see what I had gotten, I was a little shocked as it filled a large portion of my bedroom floor, here's what it looked like.
|
| | Posted 7/5/2009 3:28 AM - 11 Views - 4 eProps - 2 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
