ORDER IS SOOTHING
This was my world for almost 40 years, order was the goal everyday.
The idea of arranging pieces of dead animals in an appealing display at a reasonable price for homemakers to purchase to feed to their families that eventually processed into shit was how I paid my bills. I have no buildings, bridges or inventions to claim, everything I did turned into actual shit. I know this is a blunt statement but bottom line that is what I did.
Enduring cold, working with sharp objects, the steady march of code dates, power mad inspectors, rude customers, back stabbing middle management and repeating the same ritual day, after day, after day, after day was about it.
Now that I have depressed you there was a bright side. I learned how soothing order can be. As I arrived each morning I surveyed the damage from the day before. I would start again not skipping a step. Each step was vital as I reconstructed the perfect display.
Outguessing the public is a fools errand but a "computer assisted" ordering system, warehouse screw ups, special holiday orders, the weather and "dog and pony show" visits from corporate were also part of the fun. It was a combination of traffic controller, jigsaw puzzle champ, fortune teller and weather man.
In the midst of chaos I found those moments when the case was full, fresh, properly signed, on schematic and in code. Every package was aligned, the garnish was fresh, the glass and countertops were spotless and everyone was on time ready to work and in proper dress code. For that one brief moment everything was perfect.
Then, in the blink of an eye, one sweet little old lady would appear. With some strange super power she could in one pass move, flip, poke and destroy my perfect work of art.
Allis-Chalmers CA built in the 1950's
I had four acres of lawn/field that I kept mowed in Ohio. I had a small farm tractor with a brush hog mower that was shaft driven from the power take off. I restored it with new paint, rubber parts, a tuneup and the original decals.The hours and hours of mowing these fields would last until dusk. I would sit on the front stoop with a glass of sun tea smelling the fresh cut grass and admiring the perfect pattern of my wheels. After 30 minutes it was dark.
I would eat, sleep and leave for work before sunrise to return to see the spring rain had produced four inches of new grass/weeds.
There are many things in life that are like this. I shave my head and have for around three decades. Every two to four days I shave my head but it is only perfect for about four hours.
We wash dishes, sweep floors, wash windows, wash cars, shovel snow, dust, do laundry, mow lawns, shower, eat and sleep. No awards, fan fare, parades or trophy, only the satisfaction of doing it to the best of our ability.
I did not fall into the trap of resenting my employer. I worked for some real characters in some very miserable conditions but I agreed to work for the wage they offered and always had the choice to stay or leave.
The economy was bad, good jobs were scarce and inflation was as bad as today. I worked the jobs I could find but I was never oppressed, a servant or a slave. I was a man in a working agreement to do a task for an agreed wage, nothing more and nothing less.
I found that pride that he talked about, I took pride in my work and always tried to do it well, I was my own man. The secret I had discovered was not to expect praise or recognition. I had higher expectations for my performance then my employer. This insulated me from their criticism.
I wrote this post because of a conversation I had with a group of men. A few were whining about how they hated their jobs because they were not getting recognition for their hard work. I guess I sound heartless because I asked if they had been paid for their work and when they said yes I asked them if they were waiting for a hug to go with it.
Maybe I'm old school, not woke and out of touch but I survived a life of toil and sweat with very few resentments. I have a few regrets about my choices but they were my choices.
I still seek that precious moment when everything is in order, clean, fresh, spotless and perfect. If my external world is in order somehow my mind, body and spirit are also in order.......
....but I could have more issues.
