|
Work Space: The Kettle Kid |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Erin Frustaci
|
|
Thursday, 21 December 2006 |
|
|
|
|
People like Erik Davis ring. This time of year, they bear the cold nights and people at their busiest, all to help others. Davis rings for others because he, too, has had hard times.
“It’s my way of giving back,” said Davis, 32, of Loveland.
For the last four holiday seasons, Davis has worked as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army in Fort Collins.
It all started when he was laid off four years ago right before the holidays. His wife was working as a hair dresser, but Davis said they were dependent on two incomes.
“When you cut one off overnight, it messes things up,” he said.
With a 2-year-old at home, Davis knew he needed a job and needed one fast.
“I saw an ad in the paper for bell ringers and I turned out to be pretty good at it,” he said.
Davis now has a full-time job at Associated Thermoforming Inc. where he averages about 50 hours a week. He doesn’t have to ring, but he still does, about 25 hours a week. Everyday after work, he drives up from Berthoud to ring. Saturdays, he’s out ringing from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Davis is used to hard work and long hours. In fact, it is all he knows.
“My dad taught me at a young age, if you want something, go out and earn it,” he said.
Davis was in the Army Reserve, then worked on a lobster boat for four years. He married young and when the marriage didn’t work out, he wanted to get some distance.
“I flipped a coin between Colorado and North Carolina — Colorado won,” Davis said.
Because he grew up in New England, the cold didn’t bother him.
“When it’s cold and windy, I dress for the weather,” Davis said. “What drives me nuts is when people come 100 feet from their heated cars to the heated building in their shorts and flip flops and say they are cold.”
Still, he stays cheerful as he stands outside Sam’s Club in Fort Collins. Anyone can ring a bell, Davis said. But he makes it interesting.
“I talk to people,” he said. “I get to know people. I can read people. I can tell if people are having a bad day. I try to cheer them up.”
He said sometimes people who aren’t well off will put in a dime, nickel, or quarter and look sad because they can’t put in more.
“I don’t expect everyone to walk in there and drop a $10 bill. It’s not a toll to get into the store.”
He encourages people to give if they can, because the people who receive it are so grateful.
“There’s always somebody out there who needs help,” Davis said.
——
VITAL STATS
Name: Erik Davis, 32, of Loveland
Company: Salvation Army
Title: Bell ringer
How long have you worked there? 4th season
———
IN HIS WORDS
What’s challenging about this job?
What challenges me is when it is slow. I need to work a crowd. I’m very good at keeping my head on a spinning top. I make sure to talk to everyone as they come in and out.
What impresses you?
People willing to help without expecting something in return.
Did you ever think in a million years you’d work here?
Nope. As a kid, like anybody else, I put money in the kettle. My dad spoke highly of The Salvation Army. A lot of people don’t realize we get paid and think we’re only out there for an hour or two.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you do?
Right now, watching the Nuggets game. I’d be at home.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done while at work?
I wear a brown Carhartt coat and reindeer antlers. My daughter said I had to wear them this year.
Smartest?
I’ll sit and listen to an old guy or even a younger person. I’ll put my bell in my pocket and listen for as long as it takes for them to get whatever off their chest. Maybe they had a bad day. Maybe their Christmas is not so merry. I just try to listen to people. I try not to blow them off.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever done to make money?
Lobster fishing. Most people around here haven’t done that. The first year I worked for a smaller boat. I was sick every day for over a year. I puked my guts out every day, but I knew I had to work. I stuck with it until I got used to it. Sea sickness is all about mind over matter. When you start thinking about it, that’s when you get sick.
What’s the biggest payoff in your job?
When I see what good comes out of it, not just the stories I hear. I see a little kid run off with a candy cane like it’s the best thing that he has ever gotten in his life, or when I get a laugh out of somebody and put a smile on their face.
Favorite spot?
I miss the ocean. The ocean would be my favorite spot. I lived on an island, when I moved here we had a machine to play ocean sounds so I could sleep.
Family: Wife, Marsha and daughter Bailey, who will be 6 in January.
| Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
|
|
| |
