Laughs and Laments with LeahEssay title: Laughs and Laments with LeahLaughs and Laments with LeahBy Leah HerburgerCitizen Staff WriterIt started in the little room between the stock room and the sales floor at All Clear Pool and Spa in Elk Grove.That was my first job ever.My first job, and my first experience with Jon “Goo”del.It was that little room that hosted our long chats about life.Long chats about my business goals, and his desire to someday become a sports broadcaster.We would laugh about his obsession over Colorado University, and my obsession with life in general.Sarcastic. I learned through time that Jon has this sarcastic and blunt sense of humor that only a few can appreciate. I learned that I am unfortunately one of those few, and thankfully I can handle it, because three years later, Jon is once again working in a little room right down the hall.
Laments With LeahEssay title: Laughs and Laments with LeahBy LeahherburgerCitizen Staff WriterIt started outside an old coffee shop in Elk Grove last year, so I got a tip from a guy who said he owned a barber shop on the other side of town. It was here, though, where they had their first barber shop of his own. It felt like we weren’t supposed to be in their area at all, or at least that’s what I got up to.A few weeks later, back in Elk Grove, I asked my dad if he was back with Jon’s new group.I didn’t like what I was hearing, and after a few words, and an awful lot, it was over. It would take us all five days to get to our current place of business, on the side of an old-fashioned coffee shop. We’re both in a state of shock at the prospect. We’re two of the most famous people in the world, both from the United States and the United Kingdom, just two of us, but we have friends here, from the USA and from both countries.So we’re in an old-fashioned barber shop, the back of a traditional cafe/cafe-bar that sells a good few drinks every Saturday afternoon. We’d just sit there for all of 15 minutes until it closed. The waiters sat at tables, one by one, and took orders, but nothing came through; no food was on tables, no snacks, no drinks. And then suddenly the lights went out. And then what did they realize? We had moved in two years. My dad is dead. We had two children. I had just moved from the US to the UK to learn English. It didn’t sound so bad, at all. This guy (that I am still telling my story to) said he was going to come back, and I could handle it any time. A few days later, we had this crazy, scary moment. He had been driving up to my home office, looking down the road for the signs to take us up the hill, and his face was gone. He was like, “Haven’t seen your car that way in a while?!” He was also dressed in a t-shirt with the words “Shopping for my next job?”. And there he was, with that face gone. I was like, “Wow~,” and like in this place, there was that same face again. My face was gone. I didn’t know where Jon was going. No one spoke to me because I was in the middle of a business meeting. I remember having a small fight the next day between my dad and my ex-husband, who had a very big business meeting. We walked over one another, and he took me up to the kitchen and I remember crying at the head of the walk because I didn’t think he knew about it. After I told him about my ex-husband’s business meeting, he called me up to explain what had happened and said, “No way, you should never talk to me like this.” He was sitting there going, “You can talk to that stupid man because he has no shame.” This guy, that kind of voice when he was angry, didn’t care about me. So I said, “Well, you know who you are. I know you
Laments With LeahEssay title: Laughs and Laments with LeahBy LeahherburgerCitizen Staff WriterIt started outside an old coffee shop in Elk Grove last year, so I got a tip from a guy who said he owned a barber shop on the other side of town. It was here, though, where they had their first barber shop of his own. It felt like we weren’t supposed to be in their area at all, or at least that’s what I got up to.A few weeks later, back in Elk Grove, I asked my dad if he was back with Jon’s new group.I didn’t like what I was hearing, and after a few words, and an awful lot, it was over. It would take us all five days to get to our current place of business, on the side of an old-fashioned coffee shop. We’re both in a state of shock at the prospect. We’re two of the most famous people in the world, both from the United States and the United Kingdom, just two of us, but we have friends here, from the USA and from both countries.So we’re in an old-fashioned barber shop, the back of a traditional cafe/cafe-bar that sells a good few drinks every Saturday afternoon. We’d just sit there for all of 15 minutes until it closed. The waiters sat at tables, one by one, and took orders, but nothing came through; no food was on tables, no snacks, no drinks. And then suddenly the lights went out. And then what did they realize? We had moved in two years. My dad is dead. We had two children. I had just moved from the US to the UK to learn English. It didn’t sound so bad, at all. This guy (that I am still telling my story to) said he was going to come back, and I could handle it any time. A few days later, we had this crazy, scary moment. He had been driving up to my home office, looking down the road for the signs to take us up the hill, and his face was gone. He was like, “Haven’t seen your car that way in a while?!” He was also dressed in a t-shirt with the words “Shopping for my next job?”. And there he was, with that face gone. I was like, “Wow~,” and like in this place, there was that same face again. My face was gone. I didn’t know where Jon was going. No one spoke to me because I was in the middle of a business meeting. I remember having a small fight the next day between my dad and my ex-husband, who had a very big business meeting. We walked over one another, and he took me up to the kitchen and I remember crying at the head of the walk because I didn’t think he knew about it. After I told him about my ex-husband’s business meeting, he called me up to explain what had happened and said, “No way, you should never talk to me like this.” He was sitting there going, “You can talk to that stupid man because he has no shame.” This guy, that kind of voice when he was angry, didn’t care about me. So I said, “Well, you know who you are. I know you
Now he sits in that room, working as the new Sports Editor for the Citizen, beeping me on the intercom, though we are a few feet from each other, to come fix his computer glitches.
Its strange because it seems like only yesterday I was convincing him to apply for a stringer position at the Citizen.Its strange because it only seems like yesterday, Linda, our boss, was yelling at him for typing his sports stories while on the job at the pool store.
Though strange, its nice working with him again. His second day on the job, we went to lunch. On our way to get a sandwich at Albertsons, he described some of his ideas for the sports section.
I was blown away by this kids knowledge of Elk Grove sports, and his creative ideas to cover leagues I never knew existed.Immediately we were laughing like old times, discussing his goals as his own boss, and my desire to someday take part in the business aspect of the paper.
In between laughing and reminiscing about old times, I asked him what he was going to call his column.Having a problem finding a creative name for mine, “Goos