NO REGRETS

I was at Home Depot yesterday buying boards. I couldn’t find the tongue & grove location so a robust, sixty-ish guy walked me back to where they were. All he needed to do was tell me which isle but I think they do that either because it is Depot policy or they knew what I learned long ago; if you are walking with a purpose, nobody bothers you. 8 ft tongue & grove boards were stacked on their ends in a vertical slot next to trim and baseboards. I picked the ones I liked and he nodded his approval, helping me stack them neatly on the cart. Warped and split boards went back in the bin, we found enough straight, clean pieces and headed up to the check out. 

He had been a contractor, spent so much time in the store they offered him a job when he retired. He liked the lumber smell, sawdust and all; said he’d rather be around it getting paid than hanging out at home. His wife still worked and didn’t want him trashing things at home either. I took it to mean his working was her decision. Told him I didn’t have that problem. I need things to do but lived by a schedule long enough and nobody’s going to offer me a job - come to work whenever you feel like it. Before I went in the Army I took a ‘Grunt’ job at a hamburger drive-in. I interviewed in the morning and started at 5:00 p.m. At 10:00 I got a break, ate a burger, looked in the boss’s office and saw my application still on his desk. No questions, no regrets; I figured my 5 hours work would more than cover the burger and shake. I took the application, left my little white hat in its place and never looked back. Thirty four years teaching, I followed policy and arrived on time. But I’m back where I began; no questions, no regrets. 

I have a friend, retired Economics professor who thinks we are both valuable resources but under utilized. We don’t require much compensation, no benefits, are flexible and our skill sets are unmatchable. So why aren’t institutions knocking down doors trying to get us back in the loop? I said it was about policy and authority; they want control over underlings more than they want what we have to offer. All we’re good for is grunt work and they can bully youngsters who need the job. He didn’t like that; wanted an argument where everybody prospered but then he’s a high minded professor and I’m a mongrel, looking for a door ajar so I can go dig holes in the yard.