Jobs: Sea Pleasures & Treasures

My family moved to Venice, Florida for my Sophomore year of high school.  Even though I left behind scores of friends and the school and church where I had been since I was in 4th grade, there was something romantic and exciting about moving to Florida.  But we didn't just move to Florida...we settled in the scenic Gulf Coast town of Venice, just a few miles south of the more well-known, Sarasota. 

Venice Avenue boasted a median full of pristinely manicured pines and tropical foliage and was lined on both sides with quaint shops, businesses and restaurants.  It was here that I held my first real job as a "clerk." 

Sea Pleasures & Treasures, a retro shell shop showcasing a museum display of fossilized shark’s teeth found around the area, was situated just a couple blocks from the beach and was highly-trafficked in the summertime. 

My duties were to unpack and mark new merchandise as it came in, to serve patrons as needed and to man the register...you know, the noisy, old-fashioned kind which didn't tell you how much change to return to the customer.

I remember experiencing a whole new kind of "sticker shock" as I priced shells, which cost the store mere pennies, at $.25 to $2.00.  The mark-up percentages were astonishing to me and I tried to calculate how much profit the store would make if it sold all its merchandise! 

For a 15-year-old, though, the coolest thing about the job was definitely the paycheck.  I don't recall how much I was paid - and I'm quite sure it was very little - but it was enough to save up and buy my mother a clear, jar-based lamp which I artfully filled with the most exotic shells I could find.  It was the first time in my life I had my own money and was able to buy anything for my Momma.  I thought I was somethin' else.  She kept and displayed that lamp in a prominent place in our home for years to come...even though we left Florida a year later.

30 years later - is that even POSSIBLE??? - the shop is still open for business.  I just hope it stays open long enough for me to get back there someday.