Monday, September 3, 2012

Working Office

Today is Labor Day. This is the backside of a working building, come tomorrow. I greatly enjoy the oral histories of Studs Terkel. He has the knack of letting people just talk about their loves and hates, when it comes to how they fill their days.  Here are three workers 'talking' about their jobs in WORKING by Studs Terkel. 
"I hate cheap pictures. I hate pictures that make people look like they're not worth much, just to prove a photographer's point. I hate when they take a picture of someone picking their nose or yawning. It's so cheap. A lot of it is a big ego trip. You use people as props instead of as people." Jill Freeman , photographer.  
"To be a jockey you must love the horse. There's lots of times when I lose patience with him. There's just certain horses that annoy you. There's no two alike. They have personalities like you and I do." Eddie Arroyo, jockey.  
"I never listen in on phone conversations, but I'll tell you what. I worked for Illinois Bell, and I don't care who the operator is, the greatest thing is listening in on phone calls. [Laughs] When you're not busy. At the motel, no. At Illinois Bell, I did. If you work nights and it's real quiet. I don't think there's an operator who hasn't listened in on calls. The night goes faster." Frances Swenson, hotel switchboard operator. 

I still love my job, everyday. I wish Studs had interviewed me. Love your job? Hate your job? Why?

27 comments:

  1. Happy Labor Day for all.
    Those who have work and those who have not.
    Costas

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  2. Great post for today! I LOVED my job, teaching literature and writing to middle and high school students for 28 years. They kept me young, made me laugh and sometimes I cried with them. Sometimes they even cried with me. I still miss them after retiring 9 years ago, but I still see some of them, go to their weddings, watch their careers develop and see their babies. I never want to grade another essay again, but I adore staying in touch with many of them. This month I'm having my annual lunch with one student who shares my birthday, watching his soccer game this week because he's assistant coach at our alma mater, and then we'll celebrate the birth of his baby girl this coming winter. Retirement life couldn't be sweeter!! I'll watch the rest of you labor on as I enjoy the spoils of retirement!!

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  3. I love my job (art teacher). I get to tell little folks what to do and they actually want to do it! Some of them even want to do it to the best of their ability!!! And these little people are funny as anything. They actually teach me stuff sometimes! Can't think of anything else I'd rather do. (For a job, anyway.)

    And BTW, if your Jill Freeman ever went to www.peopleofwalmart.com she'd have a coronary.
    Me, I love it.

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  4. un happy "Labor Day". Architecture sympa avec toutes ces fenetres

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  5. I am a 2nd grade teacher. Love my job with the kids, sometimes the adults I don't love so much. lol

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  6. I'm a retired teacher. I did love my job for many reasons. Now I love my retirement.

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  7. Cool! I wonder what the front façade looks like.

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  8. Have retired since a year now and am enjoying it!!

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  9. I love my job. What job? Oh, I don't have a job. Heh, heh!

    Re Meg. No need to share an umbrella. She comes by often and we go into Barnes & Noble and enjoy a cup of coffee. I've warned her, though, not to do a re-run of her "fun" time in the deli in "When Harry Met Sally." That could prove embarrassing. And she's got no shame. :-)

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    1. Oh! Along with Nicholson 'picking up the hitchhiker scene' in Five Easy Pieces ("It's just crap! Everything is crap!"), maybe my two favorite scenes in modern movies. Good Grief! Everytime I see that deli scene, my imagination runs amok. That blonde hair, on a pillow... Oh my, my, my! Now you've gone and done it. You've set my morning all off kilter. Thanks, pal.

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    2. Lowell, behave yourself on Birdman's blog. Meg Ryan

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    3. Lowell, you know how jealous he gets. Don't mention me on his blog again. Oh, and by the way, who's this Heidi Klum I keep hearing Bird talk about?

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    5. Whoops! That last post was me, Lowell. Meg Ryan

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  10. That looks like a Swiss house, minus the colored shutters.

    I wish Studs had interviewed you.
    I wish I HAD a job to love or hate.
    I wish you all a happy Labor Day.

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  11. When I was consulting and traveling all the time, I loved my wandering life but, I wouldn't say I loved the job. I just loved the opportunities the job gave me. I guess I'm a gypsy at heart.

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  12. I do like what I do and the people I work with I just hate the regulations in place that stifle the creative part of it.

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  13. i used to love my job and the company i worked for. until they sold themselves to a competitor and laid us corp. folks off. ah, well...

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  14. I'll never be rich (in money terms) but I love what I have chosen to do!

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  15. I'm a bit fed up with mine... I might not be in such a building though. I wish we had a second Labor Day. Ours is on 1 May.

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  16. I liked my job, but then I retired. Now I love my job!

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  17. Lucky enough to love all jobs I had and have.

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  18. Quite fed up with mine, but I have plenty of time after hours... Great building, amazing assortment of windows!

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  19. I love: 1. Studs Terkels (& will get a copy of Working from the library, thanks) 2. the fact that I loved all my jobs 3. my current life where I work creatively each day 4. oral history
    Studs passed up a good opportunity in not interviewing you! My major focus in college was oral history with Sandy Ives. Had the pleasure of conducting series of interviews with a lumberman, a lobster fisherman and a woman who was the daughter of a midwife and related to woodsmen in northern Maine & Canada. I think you'd do a great job interviewing yourself about your work & then you could post it here!

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  20. I recall reading Terkel's book many jobs ago -- could make it to my reread list. I have worked in libraries most of my working life and have loved being surrounded by so much knowledge as by so many great stories and people; but the best part of working for me was matching books with young, blossoming readers . . . it doesn't get much better than that.

    This post makes me want to pick up my "Workers Series" again on my blog.

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