My dad was lineman for the railroads for 33+ years. It took a wide range of knowledge but also a great deal of labor, right down to something “basic” like digging a ditch. He said, you could always tell the new guys because they didn’t know how and where to dig. You see, my dad worked in the north – MT, ND, WY, and it is a miserable bugger during many months of the year. High winds, terrible cold and snow, too. The experienced guys, they knew to use their truck to shield them from the worst of that as they did what they had to do. The new guys- they didn’t know any better. Most of us have probably heard the expression, “Well, you could always go get a job digging ditches,” usually used when somebody was telling another person that if they didn’t like the work/pay, they could just go be “labor”. It turns out that labor needs skill and knowledge, too.

My mom never graduated college, but she can cook for 2 people, or 50. She can run a kitchen, manage servers, wait tables and remember what everyone was drinking and when they needed refills. She could do that for 10 hours a day and do it with a smile even when that’s the very last thing she wanted to do.

Labor is a skill.

I was talking with a guy a bit back and he was frustrated that all these potential employees were demanding more money, which in turn would “cause” existing employees to want to make more money. I wanted to point out to him that if they went and did the same job as a self-employed person, the amount they charge per hour would easily be 5 times as much. The conversation wasn’t going to head down that road, so I just told him that yes, they should be paying the other employees more, too.

Labor is a skill.

For my Ayn Rand loving, Capitalism worshiping Libertarian friends – if you really do love a free market(and not just when it benefits corporations) then understand that currently, the free market is telling you to raise wages and bring in more workers.

One of these is sitting on my desk right now. I have dreamt of this moment, as only a gamer geek can… I have spent many a day searching for them -about 390 days, last I checked…. I’ve read of people who know a guy who has a friend that has a Russian connection. Word is that they bought one, once…

But to actually be in physical possession of one? Well now, that’s something.

So much something, in fact, that I recognize I cannot keep it – in the same way that all those people in possession of a second PlayStation 5 know that it is their solemn duty to have mercy on the less fortunate.

Although I want to savor this as my own, it would be too much. No, seriously, this thing was expensive! So who wants it? I’ll make you an offer most of us can’t afford. 😉

Well that was different. ~2+ inches of paperwork, more signatures than a Verizon Wireless contract, one large check and we’re now a home owner. Mixed feelings, mostly relief. Also, hands down the easiest move I’ve ever had to make. Not one box!(That’s a huge blessing considering the amount of bookshelves I still have)