Amazing, Wonderful Work

Some weeks lead with high expectations that all those rabbits you've been chasing will finally go to ground.  Others just feel like one more round on the gerbil wheel.  Monday often seems to set the tone for the week and the way it goes is a pattern for the days to follow.  For some reason I woke with the feeling that this will be one of those weeks where all those things that have been floating out in front that won't seem to light will begin to come together into something positive.  I guess we'll see.  The week hasn't really caught first gear yet.

I suppose my positive attitude began with the dreams that woke me during the night.  I have a tendency to wake multiple times and prefer to have a clock within view where I can mentally note the time and calculate how many more hours are left before an acceptable hour at which to rise.  My sleep rhythm and the circadian rhythm have gotten out of sync.  Anyway, the dreams that flashed through my mind each time I awoke seemed interesting and optimistic and something to remember, so I made mental note to myself to do so.  I can't remember a one of them this morning, only the vague impression that they were positive and filled with accomplishment and progress.

Maybe I need a notepad by the bed on which to record things which flash through my mind as self-proclaimed brilliance.  The trouble with that is my spouse, attempting to sleep in spite of my tossing and turning, would be further disturbed and likely become more than a little perturbed at the light coming on at all hours of the night in order for me to record my thoughts.  I suppose it isn't such a good idea.

Why is it that some days are filled with expectation and others with dread?  Why do most people dread Mondays?  The common explanation is that they prefer the chosen leisure activities of their weekend to the mandated structure of a job.  We dislike going to work.

I don't buy it.  I see people working on the weekends and other days off.  They sometimes work at what are considered recreational activities, but if you dive into the essence of work -- if you look at the many definitions of work -- it quickly becomes apparent that work is where we choose to exert effort.  My preferred definition of work is "activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something."

I know people who work much harder at hunting deer than they do for the paycheck that provides the funds for the ammunition required to hunt the deer.  They gripe and complain that their job is interfering with their opportunities to hunt.  Perhaps the issue is simply that they need to re-frame their thinking in regard to their job which attaches a monetary reward.  If you view it as the means of attaining the resources to do what you choose, then it becomes part of the very exercise of your enjoyable activity.  The day job on the road crew is just the first part of the hunt.

We humans are strange creatures.  We allow ourselves to be convinced that work is a bad thing.  It is something we are "made" to do in order to survive.  Such a mentality is contributory to the attitude that seems prevalent today that "the government" should provide everyone with a livable wage.  Well, to be clear, "the government" provides nothing that people who contribute to it by their labor didn't create in the first place.  In the words of Robert Heinlein who borrowed it from common usage during his developmental days, "TANSTAAFL." (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch)

I look forward to see what the fruits of my labor might be.  Work is a good thing.  It is gratifying to see what can be created through the efforts of man/woman both individually and collectively.  Look on your work with the eyes of a child and be amazed at what your hands and mind can accomplish.

Finding Value

We have a never-ending supply of firewood at our place.  It isn't intentional; the firewood is a bi-product of clearing trees from unwanted places like fence lines.  Some of what you see in the picture is quality wood that will make a good, hot fire while other pieces are less desirable and produce lots of ash while burning quickly.  What you see here includes oak, elm, cedar, bois d'arc, persimmon, honey locust, pecan, ash, hackberry and I'm sure, other species that I am unable to identify.  Oh, and this is only one of the woodpiles on our place.  There are several others.

Much of it has come from trees that have fallen in a storm and landed on a fence.  One of the best investments we made when we bought the place was in a Stihl Chainsaw.  I had tried other brands, but nothing beats the durability, reliability or ease of operation of a Stihl.  Yep, they cost a bit more up front, but when you consider they will outlast a half-dozen of other brands, they are a bargain.

Ummm....back to the trees that fall during storms.  Why is it that the ones that fall are the biggest ones around?  Those large chunks of wood you see in the foreground of the photo are about 16" in diameter.  They were from a single branch of a large tree that fell across one of our fences.  It took several days of work getting that particular tree reduced to firewood and several brush piles and the wood hauled off.  Even worse, it was on a stretch of fence that is difficult to access near a creek.

Strange as it may seem, I enjoy working down in the woods with the chainsaw.  Yeah, it is hard, sweaty work and tires me out more than I like to admit, but there is something satisfying in the labor.  I have no desire to go out and cut down a tree just to turn it into firewood, but if a tree falls, I feel that it is almost an obligation on my part to salvage what I can from it for other use.

I'm sure there are plenty of life lessons to be told here such as finding value in the bi-products of our labor, or in re-purposing things that no longer serve their original purpose.  I didn't set out this morning with those things in mind.  I merely realized that I'm proud of that pile of wood.  Along with its building, came a satisfaction in my own labor to create it.  It isn't anything spectacular like a work of art, or a house, or a business; it is simply a pile of wood.  It has yet to serve the purpose of providing heat for a home, or fuel for a campfire, but it is the fruit of much labor.

No matter how humble the task, there is value in our labor.  We each should learn to recognize and appreciate that in ourselves and in others.  The guy that digs the ditch needs a pat on the back just as much as the one who designed the highway.  Take time to show appreciation to those who labor quietly in those many jobs that never get the attention.  They need to know that others recognize their value.

A Worrisome Trend

Last night I read "The Manifesto of the Communist Party."  I read it years ago, but it had been a long, long time.  I was somewhat amazed at how many of the ideas promoted by the document have found their way into current theory of government.  Everything from public education to policies that promote the breakup of the traditional family unit.

Within the document are a few "gems" that are thought provoking.  It discusses the evolution of societal arrangement through time from tribalism, to feudalism to more modern theories of political and economic systems that we enjoy today.  It promoted communism as the next logical step in that evolution.

The argument presented within the document is that all such economic and political systems are designed to keep power concentrated in the hands of the few and the productivity of nations on the backs of the many.  It purports to resolve that issue by moving that power, through revolution, into the hands of the government by taking the resources of the nation out of the hands of the individual and placing them into the hands of "all citizens" through governmental control.  It is confiscation of wealth by those who hold political power, pure and simple.

In theory, there is merit to the concept -- especially to those who have been without wealth and power.  The trouble is that it doesn't solve the concentration of that power into the hands of a few -- it merely changes their face to that of government officials instead of private individuals.

The current trend toward automation is concerning to me.  It further exacerbates the issue of concentration of power into the hands of a few -- no matter under what political/economic system you consider, or favor.  It will become more and more difficult for a subset of the population to find employment in an automated economy.  Not everyone is suited to become computer programmers, or practitioners of other technology-based jobs.  The entry-level jobs are the very ones being replaced by technology.  These would include store clerks, fast-food workers, janitorial services, etc. -- i.e. low-skilled labor.

How do we deal with the loss of those jobs?  In my mind I see the classic science-fiction scenario of an underground economy of those who fall outside the system and live in the sewers and decaying factories of cities.  It isn't a pretty picture....

Never Ending Labor

It seems there is no end to the tasks that need doing at the ranch.  Today it is clearing brush from a fence line and preparing a level area to set a replacement stock water tank.  At 7:00 a.m. it is already 80 degrees with humidity of 64% and the sun hasn't shown itself for the high clouds which hold little promise of much needed rain.

We do most of the physical labor on our place; it is not a large ranch requiring numerous employees,  it is small and I have a hard time paying someone else to do what I can do.  Some might argue that if I am able, I should hire someone else to give them a job.  I've never seen it that way.

If I have time and am both physically able and have the knowledge to do a job, I will do it.  If I don't have the requisite knowledge or, tools for some jobs, I might hire someone else to do it -- such as cutting and baling hay.  If I don't have the time due to more remunerative employment of my personal labor, I will hire things done.

I was never one to think that just because I am able to pay someone else to do the job that I should sit back and watch them toil away while I play the role of "boss."  It isn't my style.  I guess, because of that, I can more easily relate to folks who "work" for a living than I can those who merely "boss others" for a living.  I don't like to ask someone to do a job that I am unwilling to do.

Oh, well, so much for the digression into my theories of doing physical labor...there is work to be done and we're burning daylight.

Workout

I am constantly amused
By those who are confused
About simple things in life.

They buy a membership to the gym
To stay fit and trim
To look good for their husband or wife.

Then they head into town
To take a look around
For some labor saving device

That will make pulling weeds
A task of quiet ease
And not even think twice.

Then a mower for riding
Not a push one for striding
Around and around their lawn

Is the next acquisition
For their lofty position
Won't let them do work like a pawn.

Why work up a sweat
When you wash the Corvette?
Hire a college kid needing some bread.

Don't paint your own house
Pay a friend of your spouse
To apply it evenly spread.

And all of those jobs
That need labor in gobs
Are beneath the dignity

So have them all done
By somebody's son
Then you won't have to get dirty.

If work is so bad
That you hire some young lad
To labor out there in the yard

Why is it you spend
Most days and weekend
In the gym working so hard?

Random Thoughts on Immigration

Strengthen our border controls.
When found, return illegals across the border.
Export the jobs right along with the workers --
i.e. don't discourage companies from investing south of the border.
Cheap labor, lower manufacturing cost, better buy for U.S. consumers.
Guest worker program -- strictly enforced and controlled.
U.S. Unions -- tough. It's either jobs here, or jobs there -- which do you prefer?
We either let them in or we export the jobs.
Implement trade incentives tied to anti-corruption measures.
Offer infrastructure loans.
Accelerate economic development and diversification south of the border.
Give them plenty of reasons to stay home.
Don't whine when you can't hire a maid, or a janitor, or a cook, or an agricultural worker, or a packing plant worker, or .... you get the picture.
Offer free travel south for all inner city gang members. No return ticket. Or, implement forced prison labor gangs. While we're solving problems lets solve as many as we can at one time.