By The Sweat Of The Brow

Ever since the time of Adam and Eve we have been compelled to lives of labor, earning our keep "by the sweat of the brow." Each ensuing decade sees the process of laboring become more mental than physical, more emotional than manual. Farms have been abandoned for factories, offices, and the hope of a steady income. Technology has cast a wide net, but something vital is still escaping.

In my youth, people who had it surrounded me. My father could grow gardens, fix engines, and graft plants. Different uncles could wire houses, make furniture, hunt and trap, till the soil, build anything. These were men who had grown up on farms, worked hard, and survived the Great Depression.

During the two summers I spent as an electrician's helper at the paper mill, I learned a lot from other "working men." Lloyd Sivils taught me something that saved me this week: "Measure twice and cut once." Three decades have erased many names, but I still remember personal attention from J.B. Courson, Bob Courson, Charlie Miles, Don Craig, "T-boy" Gray, Melvin Robinson, Earl Deal, Clarence Chandler, and "Mr. Mac."

I'm not opposed to formal education, for college degrees have afforded me continuous employment for 30-plus years. But there's a tendency to view a degree as guaranteed success. That's hollow security, as we well may see if the Year 2000 brings some of the predicted troubles.

Wemmick, Mr. Jaggers' clerk in "Great Expectations," had a keen eye for "portable property." Something that he could pick up and take with him today was far better than something he might -- or might not -- get tomorrow. Two gold coins in his pocket were of far more value than the promise of four next week.

Likewise, those who have "portable skills" have extra value and security wherever they are. Pick them up from one situation and plunk them down in another, and they have the potential to survive. Those of us who are "specialists" may not be in such demand, and corporate downsizing is forever putting us on the streets.

I know a father whose son is constantly getting job offers. They aren't glamorous jobs, but require hard work, sweat, and a lot of manual exertion. Still, the pay is tolerable, and the skills are portable. I wouldn't have the same opportunities if I were to suddenly find myself unemployed. Too many years of being fine-tuned by management consultants to "work smarter, not harder" have left me feeling vulnerable.

Benjamin Franklin said, "He that hath a trade hath an estate; he that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honor." If I could begin my working life again, I'd try to make some changes. For starters, I'd endeavor to develop skills with a timeless quality about them, skills for reducing my dependence on others -- and technology. Skills like planting gardens, building houses, and fixing all sorts of things.

I'd still pursue an education ... but with more of it "by the sweat of the brow."

Copyright 1999 James McAlister

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