Burger King to Bergdorf's - Part 2

I worked only part time at Burger King. 4 hours here, 2 ½ hours there. This was right after I graduated from high school and over the summer. There were a couple of times I had to work on the weekends and it was so strange to be in the 34th Street area during a Sunday. It was so quiet! Great fun for me and the rest of the half staff. I met Jimmy there. He was in the back making the burgers. I would call the order in over the loud speaker but somehow it would sound very sexy. It drove the guys nuts and was great fun for me.

I was still seeing my HS boyfriend, Carl. But Jimmy got my attention and I got his. We flirted with each other outrageously. But it did make it fun to go to work. Eventually we saw each other outside of BK. I was juggling 2 guys and it was crazy!! When I left BK, I also left Jimmy….who told me he was Greek but his last name was Dermot but me being so sheltered had no idea at the time that last names could also give you an idea of their heritage.

One of my most vivid memory of BK was during a lunch hour rush. The lines were long and I was taking an order of an African American businessman who looked to be in his 40's. When he was done ordering, he said "Thank you, Esther" which surprised me. Did I know this man? He didn't look familiar but how did he know who I was? When he saw my puzzlement...he smiled and pointed to my name tag pinned to my chest...I completely forgot I had to have that on! Another memory is my whole family standing at the entrance one day....coming to see me at my new job. Unfortunately I was too busy to visit with them and show them around...LOL...as if.

Needlepoint USA was the name of the company I left BK for. It was started by two ladies, Elaine and Cherie who were sisters-in-law. Elaine was married to Cherie’s brother, Stuart. Elaine was the business end and Cherie, the creative force. They had started this business out of Cherie’s apartment and then moved to this small office on 57th Street. Pretty amazing. Besides transferring the designs onto canvas, I packaged kits for shipment to stores and catalogs in the office. I learned how to tie up boxes and send things out by UPS. Sometimes I went to the backrooms of the large department stores such as Bonwits to deliver items.

Obviously Marianne and I saw each other everyday. We had such a good time together. We would play backgammon during our lunch breaks and whenever the ladies were out of the office, the work would go away, the backgammon set taking its place. (Definitely when they went to get their hair done…we were good and free for a couple of hours!). I discovered Chockful of Nuts’s cheesecake and tomato soup from the deli across the street. The ladies were always dieting and discovered lo-cal biscotti before it’s time. I ate a ton of them! Right below our building, a health food restaurant opened up…we were there almost everyday picking up tuna in pita. At the time, pita was the newest thing! When Ann Taylor opened their store on 5th and 57th, they also had a small café upstairs. I had Black Forest Ham on brioche there for the first time. Heck…I didn’t even know what a brioche was! Here I was, a girl who grew up on cha siu baos eating la-di-dah french cuisine. Ahhh...there was no talking to me.

Anything “designer” was of interest to me. Especially Louis Vuitton. I carry LV to this day and have a collection of bags that are lovingly worn and in great need of repair. And even now - LV always catches my eye.

But always…I think a bit of the Burger King girl lives in me. Hmmm...I wonder if that's why the color orange always appeals to me!