Y2K Survivor

You know years ago Johnny Carson was credited with saying that in America, "Men are defined by their work."  And it is true, as I find myself always trying to place people in the comfortable little boxes of my mind, as to where they work.  I know mailmen, electricians, teachers, cops, etc.  I know them by what they do to put bread on the table, period, end of story, all that needs to be know.

Only maybe it is not all that needs to be known.  Do we need to know a young chick works at a convenience store, or do we need to know she is working two full time jobs to support her two children after the dead beat Dad blew town?  Actually, I generally find I already know that story because those single mothers working multi-minimum wage jobs MAKE SURE you know who they are.

On the opposite side of the spectrum we have the person who flounders in the work place and can't find a niche.  We view them as losers in life because thy wont fit in our fucking mental boxes!  They can't, or wont hold a job so therefore they don't earn an identity.  But in Western Oklahoma there are really only two jobs.  You farm or work oil.  Sure there are a lot of support businesses out there, but they all go towards farming or working oil.

Now in western Oklahoma we get a lot of snow.  And while adults always hate snow, farmers love it.  Supposedly the large flakes of the downy wet stuff trap nitrogen in the air and drag it down to the wheat fields where it enriches the soil.  Now, I don't know if this is true or not, but back in western Oklahoma when people start to bitch about the weather, one of the grumpy old times says, "It's good for the wheat."  At which point  all heads nod in agreement and all bitching on the subject stops.  Because, old Johnny Carson was right.  All of those men know one truth, they are farmers and that's all that matters.

So Bankers talk about things in "Bottom Lines" and teachers think in bell curve terms, and high stress managers discuss time management.  This is because we become what we do, not what we eat.  Our identities come from what we do, day after day, week in and week out.  And you know what?  I get asked about what I do all the time, but almost nobody has ever asked about my degrees or where I went to school.  They don't care about hobbies, criminal record (there is not one... required statement by Witness Protection Agency) or why I am short fat and bald but my father is tall slim and looks like an Indian.  Hey!  Why the hell IS that?!!

OH well, what do you do? 

NOTE:  This post was written while half aslep because Y2Kette wont share the computer.