I've done manual labor, a lot of it. I was a contruction laborer digging holes, running a jack hammer, etc. Unloaded trucks and stocked shelves at a grocery store. A lot attendent at a car dealership mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, cleaning the shop, boxing up transmissions, etc. I've worked on farms doing misc. work. I was an auto mechanica for a few years.
One thing I miss about those jobs is the satisfaction of accomplishing a task every day. Notice none of those jobs require spending 3/4 of your day staring at a bleepin computer either. There are many days I stare out my office window wishing technology wasn't such a large force in my business.
It ain't all peaches and cream on the professional side.
These times are definitely not like the old. I spent my earliest years as a Union residential framer in the Bay Area and we had to bust are butts to keep our jobs due to the high costs of labor for these framing companies being affiliated with the Unions and paying into our annuities, vacation, and health care.
Back in the day as a youngster in the trade I remember getting yelled at alot to hoof it and I kept my mouth shut, busted my butt, watched and learned. I was lucky enough to work with some talented journeyman and they would always ask for me when they needed help.
Today I can cut roofs and stairs with the best of them. I've got a ton of plumb and line tricks and my work is second to none. Laying out foundations from property pins and nailing the elevations is fun also.
As a suprintendent I let alot of guys go if they weren't hoofing it. Why? Because thats how I was brought up in the trade.
I never had to wait around in the hall for a job because the companies I worked for new I busted my ass.
Today anything residential is non-union. Only the commercial and Public works projects are Union and the costs of these projects have quadrupled mainly due to job safety requirements which is not a bad thing.
I think about my childrens future and wonder how they will see things in the future. My main concern is that they are happy in whatever they choose to do in life but one thing they know for sure is that there are no free rides.
It's a parents responsibility to teach their kids the realities of life.
I always told my kids -- "get a college education" -- then if you want to drive a truck for a living, or be a cop or a fireman... fine... but at least be doing that because it's what you WANT TO not because you have to. Big difference in my book.
John has been trying to bring this to our attention for years, and it really is a scary thougth, especially when you hear his reasoning at the end.. It is undeniable, but we go out of way to ignore it..
Last edited by Iamtheonlyreal1; 01-16-2012 at 08:58 PM.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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