The View Through the Eyes of Another

Having been a dining room supervisor once upon a time, I had some personal interpertations of the experience Barbara Ehrenreicht expressed in her story, Serving in Florida. I know that I have been blessed enough in life to have never experienced the depths of poverty or not having enough to get by. But I have learned some things in life through the experiences I have had:

1. People usually do the best they can at the time. If they could do better, they would. I think that sometimes people are limited by their education, of course. But as situations arise where they can make a choice that will improve things, they do it. One step at a time people evolve into what they decide, by the decisions they make. Some people are stuck in dead end jobs because they haven't been given the chance to change things, or they missed the chance when it was there. It is possible that it is where they want to be. And while I can't imagine existing for nothing more than to pay the bills for the next month of life, if one has never done anything else, do they even miss it?

2. Much of the time they don't know how to do better, or maybe, that there is anything better. When a person has functioned at the same level their entire life, it may be where they are comfortable. If someone lives in a small trailer or apartment, and always has, do they miss the comforts of a jaccuzi, or hot tub, or large spacious yard, or plenty of floor space in a oversized house? Maybe not. These things could all appear cumbersome to a person with so little time, things that require time, maintainance, and work. Possibly they appreciate commodities such as time, money, and possesions more than the rest of us.

3. Often, people without choices or options learn to be happy with what they have. Like we discussed with the poem Seven Floors Up, Sometimes people choose the lifestyle that makes them happiest, even though we, through our limited vision, can not understand the decision. Our country, such as it is right now, couldn't even function without those in the service industry. When I go to a restaraunt, I expect someone to wait on me. When I stay at a hotel, I expect someone to clean up after me. They will be treated respectfully, and their service will be appreciated. Shouldn't those people be able to take pride in their job just as much as the lawyers, doctors, and teachers? They may not get paid like those who have gone to school and received a degree in one thing or another, but they should be able to hold their head up when a job is well done.

I have had a plethora of jobs in my days. I was a maid as a very young teenager. I worked at A&W after that. At some point I started work at a local bakery and ended up marrying the bakers son. (I worked there way tooooo long.) I was fortunate enough at that point to be able to quit working and raise my family for many years until just before my divorce, when I had to return to the working class again. I started over again as a homemaker for home health. I then was offered a job as a server in a retirement community. That rolled over into the dining room supervisor. I stayed there until I got a job for 2 years as a cook for the preschool where I have now taught for nearly 11 years. I've never been embarrassed about a job. Rather, I enjoy whatever it is I've been given the opportunity to do; building new friendships, gaining new skills, learning about what makes businesses tick. Some jobs have exhausted me and I was grateful to leave them behind for something new, while others caused some heart ache when my time was up.

I don't think Ms. Ehrenreicht gained any kind of an accurate view of the life she discribed. It was her view as a priviledge lady trying to experience something that had no baring on her life, because she could, and would, walk away. These jobs were life to these people. She even discribed it well; the waitress that was thrilled when her boss gave her permission to park the truck in which she was living in the parking lot, the foreign boy who whithered away at the prospect of losing his job. These people needed their job whereas she just wanted an experience to compare to her life. Her view was distorted by a reality that had never been experience by this class of people. She has, however, an amazing talent of painting a picture and using words to create emotion in her readers.

I liked and agreed with Chance (I think it was) who talked a lot about how circumstance is often the dictator of our life. While I'm a huge advocate of education (duh, I teach), not everyone has the opportunity to gain an education. Those who do gain an education don't always use it to their advantage, while others who didn't get a degree of any sort make great money at a profession that suits them fine.

I guess what I'm saying is...it's all attitude.