WORK

“Father, I beg of Thee a little task
to dignify my days, ‘tis all I ask.”
Edna St. Vincent Millay

There is an old saying: “The highest reward for man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.” I believe that.

I’ve worked enough to know what work is and to appreciate the fact that I don’t have to anymore (Not that what I’ve been doing with the rest of my life hasn’t been work).

I started out working at my grandfather’s hot dog and chili restaurant on the corner of Slauson and Vermont in Los Angeles when I was only eleven years old (holidays and summer vacations until I was fifteen) I waited tables and had to give my tips to the other waitresses who were supporting their families.

I worked at an auto parts store while I was in high school (and sold a whole set of spark plugs to one customer for the price of one plug – who knew they could be so expensive?) I supported myself through college working part time as a “stripper.” (That got your attention!) No, not that kind of stripper. I stripped the tags off the new suits that came in at Robert Hall Clothes. “Stripper” was the actual job title. (Which led to a nickname I’ve had ever since: “Bubbles.”)

You would be surprised to know that I actually applied to work as a female deputy sheriff. I would have escorted prisoners to and from jail to the court house, etc. But I failed the physical exam (two of my lower lumbar were fused and they said I could break my back in training).

I worked for Wells Fargo Bank for six years and was one of the first three female corporate calling officers on the West Coast. (I had my own secretary, use of a bank car, expense account, yada yada yada) Six months after I quit my job (to be a stay at home wife and mother) the Bank called and offered me a position as an assistant vice president in the correspondent banking department. I declined and I’ve never regretted it.

There are a lot of people out looking for work right now, and even more working at jobs that they have no intention of continuing once the economy turns around. In any case, keep this in mind:

There is only one thing worse than to live without working, and that is to work without living.