It was fitting because that was exactly what I was doing on a stormy day in March of 1986.
The song was “Tender Love” by Force MDs, and every time I hear it I am transported back to that day.
First job
We used to always have two days off, a Thursday and Friday, near the end of February. It was teachers’ convention and it gave us a four-day weekend.
We used to always have two days off, a Thursday and Friday, near the end of February. It was teachers’ convention and it gave us a four-day weekend.
It was Wednesday night, and I was playing on my Commodore 64. I was designing a video game, a sort of choose your own adventure with graphics. Back then they were all text only, if you can believe that.
Well, the phone rang. My Mom got it and said it was for me. I asked who it was, and she was not quite sure, but thought he was offering me a job.
That was odd, I thought, but I went to the phone. The owner was man named Bill Gergeley and he needed someone to help him out at his greenhouse. He had phoned my high school guidance counsellor Ed Ryan looking for a recommendation. Mr. Ryan was like a second father to me, so he gave my name and number to Mr. Gergeley. So now he was asking if I’d come help him out.
The greenhouse was just south of the final stop on my school bus route, so I never actually saw it. Yet, I knew where it was because he gave directions.
So, I awoke early that Thursday morning and my Dad drove me to the greenhouse. He was not completely sure what it was either, but we made it.
There was no one there. I thought for sure someone would be waiting, but no. I saw a greenhouse and went in. It was humid and lush with hanging plants. It was like an oasis on the prairies. Still no one though. Later I was to discover it was called the "South House".
On the other side of the yard was a house. I figured I would try there. I knocked but was hesitant. After a minute or two, this man answered who was about my dad’s age, wearing a white muscle shirt and disheveled hair. He obviously just got out of bed.
That was my introduction to Bill Gergeley, who was one of the kindest, nicest people I ever met.
Taking a leak – or at least trimming some
I had been at the greenhouse about a month doing all kinds of jobs. I worked after school and all day Saturdays until this one Saturday when the weather was brutal. It was storming, cool, rainy and even a bit snowy.
I had been at the greenhouse about a month doing all kinds of jobs. I worked after school and all day Saturdays until this one Saturday when the weather was brutal. It was storming, cool, rainy and even a bit snowy.
When I was unsure of going to work, I was told to phone the Gergeleys. So I did, assuming Mr. Gergeley would just tell me to stay home.
“No, I guess you can come, I’ve got a job for you,” he said.
I was stunned. So was my Dad, but he was pretty supportive in wanting me to work, so we headed out into the crappy weather.
This time, Mr. Gergeley was waiting for me at the greenhouse.
The job was simple, but it ended up taking all day. The greenhouse sold bedding-out plants that came in long trays with 12 cells in each tray. Each cell had six holes or spots for plants. He had a whole section, maybe five or six beds, with onions. He wanted me to cut down the onions using some garden sheers. They literally looked like hair and I was to cut them.
So, I spent the day pulling these cells apart, cutting maybe two inches off the onions, and putting them back in the tray. When the tray was full, I took it back to the bed and grabbed the next one.
Mr. Gergeley set me up on a chair in the greenhouse he wanted the onions put in. He also gave me a transistor radio to keep me company.
I set to work and all I could hear was the wind gently nudging the plastic of the greenhouse back and forth, rain pitter pattering on the plastic, and music brought to me by 1090 CHEC.
I also got lost in my thoughts. I really liked this girl at school and just thought about her, how helpless I felt in doing anything about my feelings, and how lonely I felt.
Amidst all that I heard it.
“Hear I am, all alone…”
It was not only where I was physically, but where I was mentally and emotionally.
Parting thoughts
The greenhouse played a big part in my life when I was a teenager. I learned so much and grew as a person.
The greenhouse played a big part in my life when I was a teenager. I learned so much and grew as a person.
We played the radio a lot to pass the time, so a lot of memories are tied to songs I heard when I was working.
None may be more memorable than “Tender Love”. Every time I hear it, I am transported back to the Spring of 1986, where I heard “Here I am all alone”, and, for a few hours, I really was.
