Power: What Was Your Worst Summer Job?

“In 1979, I was a nightclub comic, working till 2 a.m., and would scrape paint off school walls during the day. The fumes were toxic, and there wasn’t even anything good to steal, just desks and chalk.” —Bruce Graham, screenwriter and playwright

“When I was 16, I was a busboy at Old Original Bookbinder’s. The first night I worked, I saw Frank Sinatra and Spiro Agnew. And I once dropped a steak knife on Michael Douglas’s guest’s lap.” —David Neff, ad exec

“When I was 13, I picked blueberries, but I loved them so much that I would pick a pint and eat a pint. It took about 10 years before I could even put one in my mouth again.” —Michael Days, editor, Philadelphia Daily News

“When I was in college, I worked at UPS. Great job, great money, but I was tired as hell, working from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. During the day I had school and another job at a pharmacy in West Philly, so I would get up at 1 a.m.  … which is why it only lasted for a week.” —Michael Nutter, city councilman

“I was a summer day-camp counselor and made $1.60 an hour, in my hometown of Bellmawr. It was the summer of the Fischer-Spassky chess championship, and all the campers beat me at chess.” —Rob Andrews, U.S. congressman

“When I was 16, I worked the counter at Gino’s, a
McDonald’s wannabe, where we were told to work fast and smile a lot. I worked the fastest and smiled the most, except for my manager, who snorted coke on her breaks.” —Lisa Scottoline, author of Devil’s Corner