April 24, 2008
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A garbage man. It may be one of the least appealing jobs to most people. It is also a job that often is taken for granted and underappreciated.
If there is one person who fully appreciates the work of the people in the waste management business it is Assistant Basketball Coach Tom Richardson.
Now in his fifth year as an assistant at Vanderbilt, Richardson’s first job was a far cry from the sport of basketball.
A native of Chicago, Richardson’s first job came in the waste management industry as a garbage man for the city of Chicago.
Richardson became a garbage man or “G-man” as he calls it, the summer between high school graduation and his freshman year of college.
“It is a hard job,” Richardson said. “You certainly have respect for guys that do that.”
The smell and the filth associated with the job are a few of the negatives that come with the territory of being a garbage man, but unlike most first jobs, low pay was not one of the negatives for Richardson.
“There was a lot of money because I was making $12 per hour,” Richardson said. “And on Saturdays I would get $18 for time and a half. At that age, I felt like I was rich.”
The hourly pay rate was a definite benefit for a job that required many long days.
“I worked six days per week,” said Richardson, whose route was on the Southside of Chicago. “My only off day was Sunday. We did everything. We went through the alleys and did both pickups. The hours were probably 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
While the hours made for long days, the amount of work was the least of Richardson’s concerns as a garbage man.
“My least favorite part was the stink,” Richardson said. “It was god-awful sometimes. I remember one time when it had to be 100 degrees and a plastic oil jug exploded on me with wet grass. That was one of the worst days on the job.”
Like anything someone is constantly around, Richardson eventually got used to the smell as just another way of life. Although Richardson learned to tolerate the smell, he was constantly reminded of the stench when he would go to lunch.
“You get used to the smell, but the people around you don’t,” Richardson said. “You go into McDonald’s for lunch and people are kind of looking at you crooked.”
While it wasn’t the most glamorous job, Richardson believes that the job was very beneficial to him and well worth the experience.
“You saw everything,” Richardson said. “It was a lifetime experience. I knew I never wanted to do it again. At the time it was a good job. It really was.”
Working behind the truck also made Richardson realize just how important it was to get an education.
“It was an experience to be around older people and know that I certainly needed to get an education, and that I had better not be behind a truck my whole life.”
