A Jack Of All Trades -
By Paul McCann
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I used to be a cleaner there , in the schools where I used to live ,
I worked hard all day , to earn a pay and a smile no one could give .
It’s hard to be a cleaner yet there’s just one thing I had to learn
it wasn’t about feeling good ,It was money I had to earn .
I used to be a house painter working for private clientele ,
rushing up ladders with bucket’s of paint and some brush’s as well
slapping on the undercoat then a top one or two after that
when you’re self employed you can’t avoid giving everything you got .
Once I was a waiter and I’d have to take orders to the bar ,
and carry drinks on a tray but I never had to walk that far .
Sometimes you might get a tip, that would be more that the job had paid,
But until that could happen , you had to work for peanuts instead .
Once I was a community nurse and for years I did my best
To care for people who needed help In everyway more or less .
I never had a weekend off or any public holiday ,
the job was very demanding and you worked hard for little pay .
I used to be a French Polisher of things that were made from wood
Everybody thought they could do my job but not many of them could .
It takes time to make things shine , as professionals are taught to do’
to be a jack of all trades there’s so much that you have to go through .
...the well-rounded "Jack of All Trades" seems to be the one who understands how things work together...thus running the show...continually grows in all aspects of life...dare to push the boundaries of that knowledge and skill set....
Thank you Paul, for sharing your thoughts-provoking and honest writing.
You are to be commended for always finding work and working hard to do your best. All the work you were doing was very necessary and important, especially to those you were doing it for. Unfortunately, that kind of work generally has very low pay and is highly unappreciated by those who receive it spent that and have money or have, perhaps, managed to gain some skill or advantage to not have to do that kind of work.
I have done that kind of work and found it rewarding for a while. To make a career of it might be drudgery and very hard on the physical body with little to show for it. I always try to be grateful and pleasant to those who work so hard and am working to see that they would get paid more.
John Boehner made me sick when he talked about how he had achieved the American dream (joining his family business) after having to do those very "bad" jobs as a young man… crying his head off about it. He deserves a medal of dishonor for the way he treats honest work.
The experience of a young adult trying to figure out what they want to do for employment or education can be overwhelming. My book will give them insight to what it means to be a carpenter. And the progress unions have made in discrimination.
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This book has been eight years in the making. It is mostly a jumble of thoughts written down in old spiral notebooks and hidden in the bottom drawer underneath various manuals for software packages and hardware long since turned obsolete.
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Thank you Paul, for sharing your thoughts-provoking and honest writing.
and a master of none.
I've worn many hats,
and now poet is one.
Michael D.
I have done that kind of work and found it rewarding for a while. To make a career of it might be drudgery and very hard on the physical body with little to show for it. I always try to be grateful and pleasant to those who work so hard and am working to see that they would get paid more.
John Boehner made me sick when he talked about how he had achieved the American dream (joining his family business) after having to do those very "bad" jobs as a young man… crying his head off about it. He deserves a medal of dishonor for the way he treats honest work.
Ron