In The Toy Box

'Try retail. They never lay you off,' said a very good friend of mine whose perspective I respected since he was going to be a millionaire by the time he was thirty-five. So began my more-than-thirty-year journey of fun and frolic in the service to mankind--and mankind does so want to be serviced.I said goodbye to an 'eight thirty to five with an hour for lunch' corporate life and hello to the employment ad titled 'Major Retailer.' I was bright. I was energetic. I was dependable. I was individual enough to succeed. I embodied all the skills and personal traits required for the job. I wrote my cover letter, singing my praises just enough without coming off as a braggart. I listed all my corporate accomplishments. I felt that eventually I could regain a future in the corporate world, but by nature, I wasn't really a desk person. I need to move and be physical.On the same day, three weeks after mailing my resume to the major retailer, I heard two sets of fate-filled words: 'We will have your last check ready in two weeks' (from my New Jersey Unemployment contact) and 'Salvatore? Hi, I'm Joe Cortez. You answered an ad in The Star-Ledger for a training program. I'd like you to come in so we can explore your options.'My Unemployment appointment was at 9:00 a.m., and the other words were uttered at 8:00 p.m. That 8:00 p.m. phone call should have given me a hint of the amount of hours required that were in store for me ('in store'), but I had never worked in retail. The truth was, at this point in my career, I didn't have a future in the corporate world. I hadn't for the past six months. And now, since my unemployment was about to run out, I made the appointment.The 'major retailer,' I discovered, was Toys'R'Us. Joe said I had a future. He was correct. My association with TRU lasted more than twenty-five years, and it has now made me a published author as well.I hope you enjoy In the Toy Box, this first part of my Toys'R'Us journey.