Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
In 1971, the McClellan twins came to Central Delta Academy. Their dad, Mac, had moved them to Moorhead as he had taken a job as a Dean at MDJC. Johnny Hughes and I challenged them to a game of football on the big part of the playground by the swimming pool. By the end of recess, the McClellans had beaten Johnny and me in a close hard-fought game. We all became friends and would later win a Three Rivers Conference Championship together. But it was that friendship built on the playground that would open other doors for me.
The McClellans had a gig where they worked concessions at the MDJC football games. I don’t remember how old we were but old enough for my parents to allow me to work with them.
Back then the Boy Scouts got to raise the flag in pre-game and we got in free. But the concession stand gig looked like and started out as fun but turned into some hard and messy labor.
I don’t remember who was in charge but they loaded our pockets with a massive amount of change – quarters, nickels and dimes weighed down my jeans front pocket. Then we got this crate full of cups of Coke and ice and we climbed the steps to satisfy a hopefully thirsty crowd of Trojan fans.
It was a fun night trying to convince folks they were thirsty and needed our wares but I was a sticky mess from a few spills. I don’t know how that Dr. Pepper man handles his job each year. There are those jobs you take on that let you know, “hey, you’re not good at this and you need to find something else to do.” Being a Coke vendor for the Trojans was one of those jobs for me. There were others like spraying cotton that put me on a career path that was far away from blisters caused by a hoe.
These days the MDCC Cafeteria staff is in charge of the concession stand and I’m sure they don’t need me to climb these stands and sling Coke products for them with a pocket full of change weighing down my Levis.
I’m not sure who raises the flag as Troop 47 isn’t on call anymore.
The team is climbing its way back to its former championship glory days with plenty of hard work.
With a few more wins, there may be a need for someone to climb the Jim Randall Stadium steps and yell “Coke, here! Who needs an ice-coldCoca Cola?” to satisfy the expanding fan base. It just won’t be me. My fingers still feel a bit sticky just thinking about this one-time opportunity and hey, I’m sure there are plenty of 10-year olds who need that job experience these days.
So, Go Trojans, #NolaBeat, #HottyToddy and Respect the Statesmen but Fear the Okra! Get out and support the college and university of your choice and hey, give that Coke vendor a bigger tip, it’s a tough job.
