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Yep, and I WAS ONLY 16!...........

I was working the evening shift at Krystal on Main Street on a Monday evening, when they still had their drive-in going, like Sonic does today.

Even back then, 1971, they had an off-duty cop as a ‘security guard’ to keep the peace as it was a ‘rough neighborhood’.

We had a cop, late 40’s early 50’s, who was a total A-hole. Nobody at Krystal liked him and he apparently didn’t like us either (I had long hair).

As I said, it was Monday night and Monday Night Football was new and a big thing at the time.

He would bring in a small 13 inch portable TV and sit and watch football while the rest of us worked, filling orders and such.

I was the only minor on the crew, and the only male. The rest of the crew were adult women in their 20’s and some in their 40’s and 50’s.

The cop/guard would plant his butt in front of the TV, set up beside the big stainless steel sink we had and was mostly in the way whenever we needed to use it.

Being a Krystal restaurant, he was able to scarf down hamburgers, chili, cokes and whatever he wanted. And he did. All evening long. Not just this one night, but every night he was on duty. This went on for weeks.

Like I said, nobody liked him and whenever someone needed to use the sink he would be asked to move, but before that the girls would make funny faces behind his back acting like they would claw him like a big cat and stuff like that.

Then that night I was going to do the same thing, but at the last second I noticed a gallon jug of floor cleaner, like 409 industrial strength, sitting on the floor behind his chair. I picked up the bottle and turned it upside down over his head while he was watching the football game and everyone was looking! THE CAP CAME OFF AND ALL THE STUFF WENT POURING OUT OVER HIS HEAD AND POLICE UNIFORM!

He screamed every cuss word you can imagine as he jumped up and rushed to the sink to clean his face head of the soapy solution. His uniform was drenched.

He left the restaurant in his squad car, Jax police could take them home at that time, and went home to change.

It wasn’t long after that, maybe 45 minutes later, that Mr. Vanzant, the manager called and wanted to speak to me.

I figured I’d be fired immediately, but instead he just asked me what the heck happened.

I told him the story of how this cop just sat there every night stuffing his face and watching TV and that I didn’t really mean to pour the bottle of floor cleaner on his head, just pretended to do it.

Next he said, “Whoa, whoa, back up, what did you say? He watches TV all night? Is Jackie (my supervisor, and woman about 50) there? Let me speak to her.”

Jackie got on the phone and let it all out about how he just sits there all evening in front of the TV and eats free food and doesn’t go outside to watch the goings on in the drive in like he’s supposed to, and he’s done this ever since he started.

Then she put me back on the phone and Mr. Vanzant told me not worry about thing, if he had been there he would have poured the jug over his head.

We never saw that cop again. He was fired from his guard and free food gig.

BUT THE STORY DOESN’T END THERE, OF COURSE!

Mr. Vanzant had to hire another cop for guard duty to replace him.

He hired a much younger cop, probably mid to late 20’s. Closer to my age, but still a cop. From the beginning he seemed to be trying to be over-friendly to me for some reason.

I didn’t think much of it, but he was apparently a friend of the now fired cop, or at least he knew of the situation.

At that time boy employees had to wear paper hats that resembled a sailor’s hat that had the Krystal logo on them.

He seemed just playful at first, and was ‘curious’ about my hat. He would take it off and put it on his head and do silly stuff then put it back on me.

Then one time he took it and went to the restroom with it on and came back and put it on my head.

After a few minutes my eyes started burning and tearing up and I was coughing and having trouble breathing.

I didn’t know it at that second, but he had taken my hat and sprayed it with MACE in the restroom and then brought it back and put it on my head.

One of the women recognized the odor and had me take it off an run water over my head.

Jackie my supervisor called my parents and told them what had happened and they were livid!

They showed up in no time flat and a Jacksonville Police Captain was with them. He chewed that young cop up one side and down the other for mis-using his police equipment and endangering the life of a minor. My parents were threatening a lawsuit all types of legal actions and stuff. They took me home and that was the last we saw of that cop guard. Don’t know whatever happened to him an don’t much care.

Anyways, Mr. Vanzant didn’t hire any more off-duty cops and instead hired a professional Guard Service! Which at least one of the girls liked because her husband was one of the guards!......................