W.O.R.K (What One Really Knows)!

 Do you “work” for a living, or survive on what you know how to do best? Some experts call it your “passion” and I would agree to a certain extent. But was it my “Uncle Buttercup’s” passion to haul garbage on his shoulders all of his life? (It did make him inhumanly strong!) Did he truly enjoy the stench of refuse that adhered to his skin and clothing at the end of the day? Uncle Buttercup and my BFAM Lewis were two of the sharpest-dressed men in town! They paid attention to the tiniest detail when they “dressed to impress”! (My Uncle Buttercup used to “borrow” the tailor-made jackets that I brought home from Japan and China.) These two fashion icons had a work history that would shame the average college graduate because they really did “work” for a living! Most of the people who attend institutes of higher learning today are looking for a career that allows them to do little or nothing for everything in return. If you come home from “work” and still smell as good as you did when you left, you have not worked. (You have merely earned a living wage from “What One Really Knows”!) I salute you for “skating” through life, never knowing what the people who put you in the position to get fat and get paid went through!

Do I sound bitter, or sour? Please forgive me, because that is not even in the neighborhood of truth! (After all, you are talking to “The Happiest Man in the World”!) This old guy knows the true meaning of that four-letter word and is happy to have gone this torturous route in life! In days past, working meant putting in an honest day of labor, whether you sat at a desk all day, labored in a cotton field or grove from sun up to sundown, or plied your technical skills in a shop or on the road, (I personally have done all of those things). The bottom line is we “worked our butts off”, (I still have a butt, but I digress).

Nowadays machines and computers answer almost all business phone calls. They give you rational, voice-activated choices that sometimes actually get you where you want to go. Answer the question or prompt “incorrectly” or “Illogically” and you end up in “Hellephone”! “NO!” “LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE!” “NEED TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE!” (Poor baby!) Not to mention that when you finally reach someone, you are immediately put on “hold”! (So they can finish their coffee, text message, office gossip, polish their nails? Just asking.) Maybe someone out there who works in one of these office environments can comment below and tell us old folks what the mystery is!

I love technology, I AM a gamer, and I WAS a computer tech, so I have a healthy love relationship with my computer and the world of technological advances, (“that K-Fried Chicken was awesome the next day in the microwave). However, as an Office Manager slash Sales Manager slash Insurance Agent, only human beings answered phones in my offices! “Floy” was not beautiful to the casual eye, but her voice made men call the office just to hear her answer their questions. “Yes, she has a boyfriend”, I would say. “No, you cannot come down here to walk her home”, I would reply. I simply left the “Floy Fantasy” intact, and addressed their business issues. They should have a computer voice that emulates “Floy”, just saying.

If you “work” long enough, sample many career paths, or stick to your passion, you will eventually become a master. People will seek you out for your knowledge and expertise, and you may never need to perform physical labor again, (if that is your goal). However, in my humble opinion, you should work as hard and long as you can while you are young. Labor builds character and sometimes muscles. If you finish your illustrious career strapped to a desk, please answer the darn phone!