After I failed at being a "University" man, I got a job. It wasn't a "real" job according to Daddy (more on that later!) but it brought in some money to support my desire to be a rock and roll star. Actually, I got two jobs.....I worked part-time at Pizza Hut and I delivered pizza part-time at the local rival to Pizza Hut, Tomanetti's Pizza.
Tomanetti's was an enigma of a pizza chain. Based in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, there were only two stores outside of the greater Pittsburgh area...Bennettsville and Dillon, SC. It was owned by two brothers, Tom and Eddie Mulvey who were two shady characters. Looking back, I'm pretty sure they were "Irish Travelers" or "Pikeys" and their business may have been cover for something suspect. They delivered the frozen pizza crusts and other supplies themselves in a garish box truck and seemed a bit mysterious. The Pee Dee area is just about halfway between Pittsburgh and Miami, Florida and I now find it curious that the two stores are situated along the I-95 corridor. Draw your own conclusion!
The Bennettsville Tomanetti's was managed by Joanne, whom I went to high school with. Joanne was a real jewel of a person, and was a hard worker that I really liked. She and her husband James had six kids and, like many Bennettsville residents, struggled to earn a living and keep food in their children's mouths. We quickly formed a strong bond and I loved to hear her tales of rearing those kids!
Her youngest was Derrick, and he was about five at the time. Always smiling, little Derrick loved to come visit his Mama at work and I loved to fix him a little cheese pizza which he would excitedly devour, and wash it down with an orange soda. He had a very unusual way of crying, and I asked Joanne why he cried that way.
Joanne explained that while she was pregnant with Derrick, she wasn't working. Her husband James was working two jobs, Whitner Funeral Home and Winn-Dixie. To survive, James would buy a case of eggs that had expired and couldn't be sold. He got them at a huge discount so their family ate eggs....for nine months! Like "Bubba" in Forrest Gump, they ate fried eggs, boiled eggs, egg salad, egg sandwiches, scrambled eggs, deviled eggs, eggs over easy, poached eggs, eggs with eggs, egg soup and eggnogg without the "nogg"! Joanne refused to even look at an egg, even five years after her ordeal.
Nine months of egg consumption later, Joanne went into labor and delivered Derrick. When he was extricated from her womb, Joanne said the Doctor held Derrick up, and slapped his butt to startle his lungs into working, and Derrick presented the world with his unusual cry. I have heard it myself, and while most unusual I fully understand why his cry was unique. It started with a long "EEEEEEEEEEEEEE" that would slowly taper off to silence, and then he would catch his breath in gasps that went "GEEEEE GEEEEE", and the whole process started over again. Yes, little Derrick spelled "EGG" when he cried. Have a rice day, y'all!