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<\/a><\/p>\nBlacksmith\u2019s Boy, Heel and Toe, by Norman Rockwell. That blacksmithing is now obsolete does not diminish the respect for those who\u00a0practiced the trade. We don\u2019t pick when we\u2019re born, we must live in our times. Work is foundational, to family, community, society,
but mostly, work is foundational to self-respect. It\u2019s less the What, more the Why and How.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Needy? Or Dead Weight?<\/strong><\/p>\nThere\u2019s always been those, of the dawdling persuasion, but in Cousin Codger\u2019s youth, the lazy at least had the good manners to keep their flaw hidden. \u201cThere was a time when accepting assistance was an embarrassment. Seems now, that everybody wants something for free,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cDuring the Great Depression, there were few \u201cHelp Wanted\u201d signs and millions seeking employment. Today we have millions of \u201cHelp Wanted\u201d signs and few seeking employment.\u201d<\/p>\n
We seem to have crossed some common-sense line, where America can\u2019t distinguish between the truly needy, and the truly dead weight.<\/p>\n
Cousin Codger quotes a passage we would\u2019ve heard from the pulpit in our youth, the Apostle Paul admonishing fellow church members, \u201c\u2026if any would not work, neither should he eat.\u201d (II Thessalonians 3:10.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI agree,\u201d said Cousin Codger, but he has some specific exceptions, \u201cchildren whose parents don\u2019t provide, the handicapped, and the elderly. I think Paul would agree. We must help those who are less fortunate than we, not those who are lazier than we.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rise and Fall of Families<\/strong><\/p>\nCousin Codger is old enough to have seen a very different America. In his youth the nuclear family was the center of life, multiple generations layering the truth about Who We Are and What We Stand For, to the youngest generation. Since World War II the nuclear family, as it once was, began \u201ca gradual dissolution,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI have watched families over several generations. Some improved their lot and some descended. The determining factor was the work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, parents are responsible for instilling a work ethic and many are failing. Why do the parents of a teenage son hire someone to cut the grass?\u201d Cousin Codger\u2019s father\u2019s unspoken parenting motto was Keep \u2018em Busy. \u201cToday\u2019s unspoken parenting motto is Keep \u2018em Entertained.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a man who had a newspaper route, who pumped gas, did oil changes, worked day labor, fetching, sweating, grunting. He is baffled, that grown men pay gym fees, and then hire someone to cut their grass.<\/p>\n
To Cousin Codger, work is a fine thing. \u201cAny job is better than no job! There are few feelings more satisfying than the feeling at the conclusion of an honest day\u2019s work. Now that\u2019s a good tired…\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nManual Arts<\/strong><\/p>\nHe\u2019s got a college education, but thinks the American schools are \u201cfailing by not teaching manual arts.\u201d He sees what is obvious. \u201cEverybody wants to work indoors now. Craftsmen, like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, roofers, brick masons, and welders are in short supply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cToo many young people finish college with no work experience, only to find that they do not like their chosen field. They should have to spend time on the front lines early in their college career. Work experience teaches skills that cannot be taught in the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked several links in the petrochemical chain – oilfield construction, rough neck, offshore pipeline, refinery laborer, refinery operator, and service station attendant.\u201d When he finally got a white-collar job, he found it \u201cwas the toughest job I ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whistle or Whine\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nHis father once worked seven years without a day off. \u201cNow, everybody clamors for the weekend so that they can get a break! Those who built this country seldom got a break. This country wasn\u2019t built on holidays and vacations.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nCousin Codger believes in the American way. If you\u2019re a good person, and a good worker, you\u2019ll be in high demand. \u201cAnyone who gets along with co-workers and customers, and is dependable can advance up the chain. The best way to advance at work is to do things not listed in your job description.\u201d<\/p>\n
His family childhood taught him what college never did, about the power of attitude. \u201cA person who is unhappy at work is likely unhappy everywhere.\u201d And vice versa. \u201cOne\u2019s attitude at work generally reflects one\u2019s attitude about life. We have gone from \u2018Whistle while you work\u2019 to \u2018Whine while you work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Cousin Codger is old school about work, \u201cHonest labor is a noble venture. Our signature on our work should be like Sterling on silver.\u201d<\/p>\n
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis edition of Uncle P\u2019s Bedtime Stories is dedicated to the honor of work. God expects us to pray for our daily bread, but He also expects us to bake it.<\/i><\/p>\n
To order copies of his books, or leave Uncle P in your will, or to offer unsolicited advice, email Uncle P at eightyoneantiques@gmail.com.\u00a0 <\/span>More Uncle P Bedtime Stories are found on the Eighty-one Facebook page.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"His daddy had a nightly routine. First, he\u2019d go through the house with a Flit sprayer, and spray the bedrooms with insecticide for mosquitoes, then he\u2019d hit the outhouse. Once done with his doings, he\u2019d bark commands to his boys. \u201cBefore my dad went to bed each night, he assigned chores to be completed before [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[59,37],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n