Blue Collar

I don't think that the really hard-working men and women classified as blue collar get enough credit. Once a group of laborers thought to be uneducated and uncouth, now have become a respected, educated, mindful part of the actual workforce. These often highly-trained and skilled individuals now gross more than their white collar counterparts. In some instances, the skill set for the "common laborer," and I use that term loosely, is often much greater than that of those who work in the supervisory or administrative sectors.

I am educated, have many degrees. I teach at a university, have managed companies, supervised employees, and waited tables, served beer, answered phones, cared for children, the list is endless. As of late, I have put away my tools of the teacher and picked up the tools of a tradesman. I am again the student, being shown how to use certain power tools, how to make things new again. I am fascinated by all of the procedures that go into some seemingly easy task. You tell a painter or fabricator, I want this. They say okay, show you some drawings, and within weeks (depending on your job) TA-DAH! There it is. What some people do not realize is that there are bucket loads of stuff (literally) that happens from start to finish. These people are artists, craftsmen, and magicians.

I thought I was already a humble person who appreciated hard work and tenacity, but I realize that humility has no limits. I have an idea of what I want the finished product to be, just like my students always view their work as 'product.' I tell them to look beyond the paper and the black ink and imagine something more. That is now the role of my contractor. He says, "imagine this," and I do, not realizing that I too have forgotten how to think outside the box, that I am no longer the expert, the one with all the answers.

So when I find myself complaining about blisters or cuts or bruises, I stop and tell myself to stop whining, as I might one of my students. "Suck it up!" I say. Blue Collar or Blue Blood, it all boils down to what you are willing to do to get what you really want and how much you are willing to listen to those who are really in the know.