About 2 months ago, my lawn mower decided to take an unscheduled, unexcused leave of absence. Luckily for me, Tennessee suffered through a fairly dry summer. My front yard is basically rocks underneath about 3/10 inch of dirt, so the baked grass was manageable. However, the backyard is apparently the original site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and I could still grow pineapples out there in the middle of winter... It's ridiculous, annoying, and is more trouble than trying to keep a fucking Kardashian happy.
Anyway, the downside to being a teacher (don't you like the fact that I say it as though there were only one downside to being a teacher?) is that I am at work during the normal operating hours of any other business. The exception is that they actually get paid for being there... So, since this is my Fall Break, I decide that this week is THE week to get my mower fixed. In doing so, I made a few observations that I had not expected, and one or two that I did. In no particular order, they were:
Observation #1: People who have no REAL JOB, shouldn't put out signs stating that they are capable of taking on the responsibilities that come with having a real job.
If I pass by your sign daily that says you do small engine repair, I am under the impression that this must be your job. If I call your business line and you answer the phone because it just woke you up
at 12-fucking-30 in the afternoon, take your sign down (if it doesn't "mysteriously burn on the roadside overnight." Yes, I can light a match.) This is exactly the kind of people who raise children to
think it's acceptable to lie on tax returns and turn old toilets into garden planters. I'm not asking for much; just a little truth in advertising. When I ask you if you are still doing small engine work (because, now, I'm wondering if your sign is a cover for a meth ring) and your response is, "Maybe. Depends on the engine," I am doubting your ability as well as the fact that when I return to pick up my mower, I'd like to not have to be told, "Dude. That was yours? We just turned it into a garden planter..." (Yeah, I used that damn reference again. In my defense it's only to reiterate the size and scope of societal deviant we are discussing here.) I hang up the phone, annoyed, but confident that there has to be someone else who can do what I need done.
Observation #2: People who have a real job, should NOT (in most cases), attempt to perform that profession while inebriated.
I decide that Option 1 isn't going to work for me since I would enjoy actually getting my mower back, after being fixed or not. I move on to Option 2: Look in the phone book for someone who performs this task openly and confidently enough to advertise. I need to go on record here with something. Yes, I enjoy drinking. Do I normally drink with the intent to forget several hours of my life? No. Drinking has its place in my life. It fits comfortably between work and writing research papers with a few other exceptions. Within SECONDS, I realize one of two things: A) This guy is about to write a thesis on the origins of internal combustion engines, or B) He has mistakenly passed out by the phone and my ringing it caused him to forget where he was an answer it. This is a multiple choice test I'm pretty sure I passed. After being unsure about how to tell me to find his shop (I HAD to ask. Call it 'double-checking my answer'), I got pissed and hung up the phone in the middle of what I can only imagine was the last, futile, drunken attempt to regain control of his voice. This observation leads me to believe that there are indeed people capable of performing their jobs, but just don't give a shit anymore. I can only relate this to burnt out teachers, politicians, the managers at ANY Applebee's, and, well, lawn mower maintenance professionals.
Observation #3: Some of the last few people we can count on are the same group of people that we have always counted on: the mom and pop shops that actually still have pride in their work.
The only people we can depend on is the generation that won't even exist in 15 years. This is something I have known for a while now. I finally called the LAST NUMBER in the phone book, which is an established business that's been around for over 47 years. Shame on me for not calling them first. After calling and talking to the most kind older gentleman (who was flat honest with me: "Just bring it on in. We'll get to in in 3,4, 5 days and letcha know what it'll run ya." I like it. Be there tomorrow.
It's painful to watch us collapse as a people, but imagine how hard it must be for that generation to watch. They have had to endure the constant nagging and bitching of the last 2 generations about how their cars aren't as good as their neighbors and how it's such a nuisance to wait on an email to arrive, especially when I know people who walked to school, yes WALKED, and couldn't afford the STAMP to get a letter to someone they wanted to talk to. This nation is becoming/has become a society full of entitled, codependent, do-nothings. Maybe I should move to Canada... eh?
Until next time, RANT ON [OFF]
Anyway, the downside to being a teacher (don't you like the fact that I say it as though there were only one downside to being a teacher?) is that I am at work during the normal operating hours of any other business. The exception is that they actually get paid for being there... So, since this is my Fall Break, I decide that this week is THE week to get my mower fixed. In doing so, I made a few observations that I had not expected, and one or two that I did. In no particular order, they were:
Observation #1: People who have no REAL JOB, shouldn't put out signs stating that they are capable of taking on the responsibilities that come with having a real job.
If I pass by your sign daily that says you do small engine repair, I am under the impression that this must be your job. If I call your business line and you answer the phone because it just woke you up
at 12-fucking-30 in the afternoon, take your sign down (if it doesn't "mysteriously burn on the roadside overnight." Yes, I can light a match.) This is exactly the kind of people who raise children to
think it's acceptable to lie on tax returns and turn old toilets into garden planters. I'm not asking for much; just a little truth in advertising. When I ask you if you are still doing small engine work (because, now, I'm wondering if your sign is a cover for a meth ring) and your response is, "Maybe. Depends on the engine," I am doubting your ability as well as the fact that when I return to pick up my mower, I'd like to not have to be told, "Dude. That was yours? We just turned it into a garden planter..." (Yeah, I used that damn reference again. In my defense it's only to reiterate the size and scope of societal deviant we are discussing here.) I hang up the phone, annoyed, but confident that there has to be someone else who can do what I need done.Observation #2: People who have a real job, should NOT (in most cases), attempt to perform that profession while inebriated.
 |
| I reckon I could take a gander at that engine... Mmmm hmm. |
Observation #3: Some of the last few people we can count on are the same group of people that we have always counted on: the mom and pop shops that actually still have pride in their work.
The only people we can depend on is the generation that won't even exist in 15 years. This is something I have known for a while now. I finally called the LAST NUMBER in the phone book, which is an established business that's been around for over 47 years. Shame on me for not calling them first. After calling and talking to the most kind older gentleman (who was flat honest with me: "Just bring it on in. We'll get to in in 3,4, 5 days and letcha know what it'll run ya." I like it. Be there tomorrow.
It's painful to watch us collapse as a people, but imagine how hard it must be for that generation to watch. They have had to endure the constant nagging and bitching of the last 2 generations about how their cars aren't as good as their neighbors and how it's such a nuisance to wait on an email to arrive, especially when I know people who walked to school, yes WALKED, and couldn't afford the STAMP to get a letter to someone they wanted to talk to. This nation is becoming/has become a society full of entitled, codependent, do-nothings. Maybe I should move to Canada... eh?
Until next time, RANT ON [OFF]
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