ISSUE
NO. 6
AUGUST 10, 2001
OUR
80th YEAR
www.RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
BRING KIDS! BRING
FAMILY!
Imagine
that you are a teenager, eldest of nine children of a Baptist minister. The
family needs money. So you find a spare-time job vending soda at Dodger
baseball games. From this start, could you carve out a career without ever
changing employers?
Roger
Owens could and did. Here’s how.
Looking
around, he realized there was no future selling soda pop – but selling bags
of peanuts might be built into something big if you toss bags to customers and
talk entertainingly as you throw.
So
Roger kept asking his bosses, and got himself transferred to selling peanuts.
Then he developed a whole repertoire of spectacular throws – sidearm,
underhand, behind-back, between-legs – and plenty of comic remarks to go
with his pitches. It was risky, because if a throw didn’t reach the intended
catcher, the cost came out of Roger’s pocket. But he seldom missed. He also
learned, and remembered, customers’ names and worked these into his line of
chatter.
As
years passed, hundreds of Dodger fans learned to ask for seats in the sections
where Roger would be working. Hundreds bought peanuts just to watch and hear
him in action. At one game he set a record, never yet topped, of selling 2,400
bags.
He’s
now in his 43rd year of vending for the Dodgers. In between Dodger
games he has pitched peanuts at World Series and all-star games, super bowls,
and the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 1977 he was invited to
Washington to be part of President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural party.
This
Friday he’ll be our star, with a half-hour line of chatter and dozens of
bags to throw into our midst. He’ll demonstrate his special toss, two bags
at once from behind his back, to two different receivers. Kids love him. So do
moms.
To make this Friday’s meeting extra attractive to families, hot dogs and hamburgers will also be on our menu. Bring the whole family to enjoy Roger Owens’ unique one-man show. To reserve extra seats, phone Barbara Hopper at 434-9992.
