Thirty-Five Years of Bologna

By Mike Pappas

Filled with wit and wisdom, Thirty-Five Years of Bologna is the true story of Mike Pappas, a deli Manager who served up more bologna during his career than he cares to recall.

Like a novel that interacts with a community of voices, Pappas writes in a style that involves the casual advice he picks up from his customers and some co-workers along the way. Thirty-Five Years of Bologna follows Pappas as he becomes a husband, father, and deli Manager and shares how he juggled working long hours with his busy home life.

Pappas candidly retells humorous situations about an ever-changing pool of co-workers and managers who enter the deli scene as quickly as they leave. The picture Pappas paints will give you a new view of your neighborhood deli and the personalities that serve you sandwich meat and cheese. But Pappas ultimately learns that life isn't about the work you do, but the people you work with.

Thanks for my support on my book: Mr. James Levine of Eyes Wide Open, Mr. Joe Spina of Seaside Prov, Mr. Vinny Bruscino of Vinny's Prov, and Mrs. P. of U Make Your Gift.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 29, 2007
• ISBN: 9780595870196

Mike Pappas

Mike Pappas spent nearly four decades in the deli business. He currently works part-time and spends the rest of his time with his wife. They live in New Jersey and escape the cold winters to Myrtle Beach.

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Contents

1

Meeting the Right Girl

2

Getting my Feet Wet

3

A New Beginning

4

My First Slice ofBologna

5

Moving on to another Slice

6

A New Taste ofBologna

7

A New Slice ofLife

8

Trying to do the right Thing

9

A New Challenge

10

Getting Back on my Feet

11

A Bitter Taste

12

A Break in the Action

13

The Longest Slice

14

Thingsget worse

15

Nothing lasts forever

In memory of my friend,

George Brennan, who inspired me to write this book.

I miss you!

1

Meeting the Right Girl

When I started in the supermarket business back in 1970, I never would have guessed that I would be doing this as a career. Years earlier if you were to have asked me what I thought I would be doing for a living you could bet I wouldn’t have said a deli manager. Maybe I would have said a politician or even a policeman. As I was growing up I always enjoyed taking charge of anything my friends and I would be doing as a group. Maybe I was too demanding, but for me I wanted things to be done a certain way. I made mistakes and most of the time I would try and make things right. I enjoyed the feeling of being in charge and felt very strongly that somewhere down the road I would be my own person, perhaps by starting my own business or being in charge of a group. I always tried to make the right decision whenever possible, even at a young age.

My father had passed on when I was nine years old, and I could remember my mother struggling to raise five children. It was rough but some how she raised us to be responsible individuals. I started working at a very young age, and continued working while I attended school. Then I was drafted into the army in the early sixties. I spent two years in the service and I was released from active duty on November 13, 1964 and had to complete two more years of reserve duty.

I started going back to my family’s church when I came out of the army. I was determined to find and to marry a Greek girl. We were five siblings; and three were married and no one had married a Greek. I knew that I could meet and fall in love with a Greek girl.

One Sunday in church, I came across an old friend whom I hadn’t seen since I went into the service. We spoke for a while and I told her everything that had happened to me while I was in the service. She invited me to come down to her church for a social get together next Friday night.

What better place to meet a Greek girl than at a Greek social gathering? I was having no luck at my church so I decided to change my luck and go. I got all dolled up and went in hope of meeting some new faces and maybe having some fun. I got there a little early and spoke with a few people who had also come early. Other people started coming in and soon three girls walked in. I’ll never forget that one of them was wearing an eye patch. When I was introduced to them, I called the one with the eye patch Captain Hook. Two of them laughed, and the other with the patch gave me a dirty look and walked off. I later found out that the three of them were sisters. Now I realized that I had to be careful what I said. I didn’t hit it off too well with one sister. I sensed that she was ignoring me. So I decided not to stay any longer and went home. Several times I went back hoping to run into Captain Hook because I really wanted to apologize to her but no such luck!

The same old friend that I met earlier told me that her church was having their annual dance in a few weeks; I made plans to go hoping to see her. I went early, hoping to get there before the sisters arrived. No sooner than I got there I spotted the three sisters coming in. I was very attracted to the one sister who was wearing the eye patch. I was nervous. Would she accept my apology?

When I saw her she was wearing a beautiful, sexy, black sequined dress that really got my attention, and her eye patch was gone. I immediately walked up to her and I apologized to her. She accepted and I asked her to dance. We danced for most of the evening.

We spoke for quite a while. Apparently she had been checking around about me because she asked me if I was the same fellow who had just returned from Korea and left his girl friend for a Korean girl. I was somewhat taken by surprise, only because I had never mentioned to anyone outside of my family as to what had really happened. It turned out that one of her friends was friendly with my ex fiancé. Now my new girl thought that I was the bad guy. I explained to her what had really happened. The truth was that my ex had sent me a Dear John letter just before the Christmas holiday and to add salt to the wound she was dating my army buddy from basic training.

At first she seemed to doubt my story. In a way, I could not blame her; after all we had just met. Except for this little set back I thought we hit it off very well that night.

I started seeing her more often. Then I find out, that she was seeing another guy! She had been seeing him on the QT because her parents were very strict and wanted all of their daughters to only date Greek guys.

Her parents seemed to like me; I’m sure being Greek helped. My mother was very happy when I told her, that not only did I find my Greek girl but her family was from the same part of Greece that my mom’s family had come from! While we were dating I was still in the army reserves. When I was accepted into the New York City police academy I had to tell her that I would be starting my training very shortly. She said I would rather you did not go! I was very disappointed and unhappy with her feelings about it. We would argue about it and she told me if I went through with it she would stop seeing me.

Between her and my mother always beating me up about it, I decided to quit before I had ever started. I did enjoy my present job working at an electronic testing lab; so I chose to look at the positive side since at least I had weekends off. As for my army reserve time we both had no choice in the matter. Uncle Sam was going to keep me in under his belt a little longer. Fortunately, she stopped seeing the other guy, who ironically happened to be a New York City police officer. We were seeing each other quite a bit. Sometimes we even saw each other three times a week. After we dated a few months her father approached me and asked me What are your intentions?

My Greek vocabulary was not the best but I was able to get my message across. I was somewhat taken by surprise, but knowing how Greek parents were I was not totally surprised, so I quickly replied that they were honorable. I told him that we were going steady. Her father continued to ask me about our relationship so I had to remind him that we are in America not Greece! I knew that my feelings were true but we had only been seeing each other for a short time and getting married is forever.

That seemed to put him on hold for a few more months. Then he would start again after a few months and remind me if you want to continue to see my daughter I want to see a ring on her finger. He was old fashioned in many ways; he did not even want any ofhis daughter’s wearing make up. Our families got along very well; especially our mothers they were like sisters. After we dated for ten months we got engaged. I told her father I was giving her the ring at dinner tonight, he said I will believe it when I see it on her finger.

I wanted it to be an evening she would never forget. I took her to a French restaurant on Fifth Avenue right across from Central Park. Everything on the menu was a la carte and definitely more than I could afford. However, it was a special day, so nothing else mattered. I wanted to really surprise her when I gave her the ring. When the waiter brought us our drinks, I managed to slip the ring into her drink. My biggest concern was that she would swallow it! I could still remember the gleam in her eyes when she saw it.

Her father was so happy; he told us both that he was going to give us a big engagement party. Then she called me the following morning at work to tell me that her father had a fatal heart attack! I just saw him the night before he looked good and was so excited. Perhaps he had died out of sheer happiness? So now we had to wait at least a year to get married, out of respect for her family.

Her brother owned his own deli not to far from where I worked and he invited me for lunch. He was a few years older than I, single and still lived at home. Our families were so much alike, I think back and I say to myself my ex-fiancé did me a favor when she sent me that Dear John letter when I was in the service. The way I look at it if my ex did not do it then, she would have done it later. I guess that she gave me the chance to meet my new love, right? We got married on the 13th ofNovember 1966. We had a big Greek wedding with about two hundred people. We had an amazing honeymoon in beautiful Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.

When I got back to work after my honeymoon, I received a promotion at my job as a sales coordinator. I was on my own, got a nice little raise, and everything seemed to be falling in place. My brother-in-law was after me to stop by his deli more often, it was like he knew something.

Not even a year went by and I found out that my company was moving to a small town in Connecticut and I did not know what to do. I enjoyed working for the company, but to move out of state and away from our families was not what I wanted to do. We were not quite ready for that kind of change just yet. I started looking for a newjob but was having difficulty finding a job in the city.

2

Getting my Feet Wet

When my brother-in law found out that my company was moving and I was having no luck in finding a new job, he asked me to go into business with him. At first I thought he was just kidding me because he was always making jokes, but he was being very serious. I said your crazy that’s not for me, plus I told him that I had no experience of any kind and no knowledge of the deli business at all and could not tell the difference between salami and bologna! My brother-in law told me not to worry because he would teach me the business. On the other hand my wife warned me not to do it because she was worried that down the road I would regret it. She became even more upset and very loudly stressed that our business ideas were very different and that she knew her brother like a book. Because of her concern, I told my brother in law that I had to think about it and of course, my wife warned me again and again! But seeing dollars bills in front of me and being a stubborn Greek I did not listen to her opinion. I told him I would go for it, so I gave my two weeks notice.

I began a totally different style of living no weekends off, no holidays off, and very long hours! Twelve to fourteen hours a day was quite an adjustment to make. The biggest regret was not being able to spend more time with our newborn son Charles. A seven day week and such long hours were giving me second thoughts. Then I remembered that when I was in the army and in Korea I had to work a full twelve hour shift as a regular day. I was a radio communication operator.

I will never forget my first day of working in a deli; it was something I never thought I ever would be doing. My brother-in law was in the deli business most of his younger years and had decided to buy his own deli. He showed me the basics and I mean the basics! I had to teach myself almost everything, and as time went on I started to get more confident with myself.

There was lot I had to learn but I felt that it would be a learning experience working with him. The trouble was half of the time he was out of the store. I had a hard time learning the different types of cold cuts, especially the salami. Many times the customer had to take me by the hand and show me what they wanted. Business was not doing very well when I started, and to make it worse they were building a new supermarket just a few blocks away. It would have a deli and this was a new concept in the supermarket business in the 1960’s.

My brother-in law could only see gross profits and not dollars. I told him let’s lower our prices and work on a smaller profit; remember we cannot take gross profits to the bank, only cash. He told me not to worry that he would take care of all the business matters. He told me that I was green and had no experience with the retail business. This may have been all new to me but there’s one thing I did know and that was one plus one is still two! We argued for weeks and business was not getting any better. In fact when the new deli in the supermarket opened, business started to drop even more. I said let’s do some advertising but he said that it was too expensive. Let’s put some specials together but he said that there was not enough profit in it. No matter what I suggested, he was always against it.

I was ready to walk out. I was at the end of my rope. I was having flash backs of what my wife had warned me about. But I had come too far to quit now and besides my Greek pride would not let me give up. So I decided to take things into my own hands. One morning when I opened the store I decided to try something crazy. I did not care at this moment about profits or my brother-in-law’s attitude; I just wanted to get some business rolling.

I decided to advertise a 99cent hot pastrami sandwich special. I got some paper that we used to wrap subs in and made a big sign that covered most of the window. It was not the best artwork but it was working and that’s all that mattered. Within minutes I got my first customer, he was a truck driver just passing by and saw the sign and stopped. I told him the pastrami was not hot yet but he said it did not matter and for that price he would eat it cold.

He also purchased a cold can of beer and a snack and before I had finished his order, someone else walked in. Before I realized it, I had a small crowd waiting. The truck driver told me that he would be back and would tell his friends. That was what I wanted to hear. It was music to my ears because I knew that word of mouth was the best type of advertising.

This went on all morning and when my brother-in-law walked in about 11am; he thought that something had happened when he saw a small crowd. I told him to put on your apron and let’s do some business. We were hopping for almost the whole lunch period and even past then. The time just flew by. It felt great to hear that register ringing. By the end of the day because I ran the special we just about sold out of pastrami.

He argued with me about running a special like this. I simply asked him When was the last time you did business like this? Maybe we did not cut a big profit like he wanted to but the end result was we did some serious business. I said to him we have tons of traffic passing us every day and a captive audience all around us, so let’s take advantage of it.

I told him that I wanted to run a daily 99cent hot sandwich special on different items. He argued with me that we were not making enough money doing this but I told him some thing is better than nothing and he finally agreed. After a few adjustments to the plan, business finally started to pick up and become steady. We decided to hire another part timer to fill in. Many times we had trucks and cars double-parked right in front of the store blocking traffic! Even the police complained to us about the double parking, but it was amazing how a free sandwich would bale us out.

After the lunch rush I would go to different delis’ and supermarkets to get some fresh new ideas. Although this was all new to me I was enjoying the new experience. After searching different businesses I got some new ideas and the one that stood out was the catering. When I got back, I told him let’s get involved in the catering field and do some catering. He told me he did some catering but never got into it because it was few and far in between and never had the right help to get involved.

I said to him I couldn’t believe you never got really involved with it. There is big money and nice profit to be made with catering. When he heard those two magic words money and profits there were no arguments. I took care of the catering end, which I was really looking forward too. There were plenty of families and businesses in the area that I could hand out flyers to.

Again this business was all new to me so