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Have A Merry Christmas, Now Let's Get To Work

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2007

ST. LEO - John Brown got into the security business about two months ago after a back injury forced him out of the pest control industry.

He learned one major difference between the two jobs on Tuesday.

Holiday work.

"This is the first Christmas I've worked since I started working at 15," Brown said from his post at the front gate of Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club. "Unfortunately, in the security industry, you can't shut down."

While many in the Bay area were still enjoying the joys of opening presents or sleeping in, some, such as Brown, were punching in.

Brown, 39, left his wife and two sons at their Zephyrhills home and was on the clock by 6 a.m. He works for St. Moritz Security Services and checks in visitors to the 1,000-acre community on State Road 52.

Tuesday, that was mostly the family and friends of residents.

"One car was an SUV filled with presents and then the car behind it had all the people that were going with it," he said.

There was some salvation for Brown. His shift ended at 2 p.m., still giving him time for a family dinner at his in-laws' house and a few hours of relaxation.

The same couldn't be said for 41-year-old truck driver Danny Marshall. He spent Tuesday at the Flying J truck stop at Interstate 75 and S.R. 52.

Marshall said he has worked Christmas in each of his 14 years as a trucker.

"I had some plans this year, and I'd rather be around family," he said. "But, it happens."

Marshall, of Homosassa, has been on the road for the past month driving for Kiss Transportation in Crystal River. He was hanging around the stop Tuesday, knowing he had to pick up a load in Zephyrhills but still unsure of its destination.

Then, his cell phone rang.

Marshall put his hand to his face. "South Carolina," he said after hanging up.

Marshall said he planned to leave the Flying J early today. He will go to Zephyrhills, pick up the load, then head to the yard at Crystal River and collect his paycheck.

Then it's off to South Carolina.

As for the rest of the holiday, he said he has plenty of ways to kill time.

His truck's cab is fully equipped with a PlayStation 3, an Xbox, a computer with Internet access and plenty of movies, he said.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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