Very enjoyable. I worked in an old woodworking/cabinet shop in Boston that had been running since the early 1930's. One older man I worked with started there when he got discharged from the Army in 1946. He was a hard man but taught me a lot. I remember how hungry I was by lunch too.
The Rigid Tool calendars were legendary and a hot item at trade shows. People flocked to RT exhibits more interested in getting a calendar and seeing the the women at the booth than seeing the display of tools.
Repetition fills my bucket of metal energy spent and every day made circling a worth while event. Quality control zero defects made one screw well worth the time it took to hold a flight ✈️ together, but now passengers have to wait bored by traffic control. What goes around, tightens with a twist of lemon in my drink by the end of Petty days gone by.
This reminds me of my time working in a factory punching holes in buttons. You got the repetitive motion, the noise, the tedium. Becoming matching. xxx
Look at this medieval factory and realize the the Roman’s invented the screw, and war lords couldn’t go any further than the Romans except in enslaving people.
It's a great poem, Alan. I've done boring, repetitive work, hour after hour. Eventually I was lucky to move on got other things, but this is life for many.
From a long time now automation has been replacing those jobs, so your poem makes me consider again what we mean by meaningful work, and how we ensure that everyone has a meaningful place in society.
Machining screws, one at a time, is in one sense a very poor use of a human. In another - a very good one. Boeing aircraft - back then - were a byword for reliability. But now?.....
It comes down to whether the humans making the screws were treated humanely - and felt valued as humans - and felt they could have a good life.
Automation appears to rescue many from mundane, repetitive, boring work and it increases overall "productivity" in the economy. The problem is that the wealth generated by that increased productivity is not distributed in a way that benefits the people who lost their job.
The result - boring, mundane work that at least allowed people to have a shot at a reasonable life is replaced by unemployment, the greater boredom of no job at all, and the despair of seeing no meaningful place or future in society. All made worse by a growing housing crisis in many so called "developed" nations (including my own).
First it was manual labourers being replaced. Then skilled trades people. Now so called "knowledge workers." The very very wealthy become hyper wealthy. Those on low wages or unemployed become destitute. Positions in the middle start to vaporise.
Thanks, David. Yes I am afraid we’re on a trajectory somewhat like what you’re describing. The housing crisis is devastating here in Canada. Average folks with decent jobs cannot buy a house in which to raise a family in a reasonably populated area. It’s not sustainable.
I once spent a summer working at a press that crimped the ends of long sheets of metal (8-12ft) for use as slide beds in a shop that made playground equipment. I also assembled baby swings, which was much more fun and far less dangerous.
Got that factory rhythm!
Makes me realize that the function of the pinup was to remind you that you are *not* part of the machine.
Good point!
Very enjoyable. I worked in an old woodworking/cabinet shop in Boston that had been running since the early 1930's. One older man I worked with started there when he got discharged from the Army in 1946. He was a hard man but taught me a lot. I remember how hungry I was by lunch too.
The Rigid Tool calendars were legendary and a hot item at trade shows. People flocked to RT exhibits more interested in getting a calendar and seeing the the women at the booth than seeing the display of tools.
Repetition fills my bucket of metal energy spent and every day made circling a worth while event. Quality control zero defects made one screw well worth the time it took to hold a flight ✈️ together, but now passengers have to wait bored by traffic control. What goes around, tightens with a twist of lemon in my drink by the end of Petty days gone by.
This reminds me of my time working in a factory punching holes in buttons. You got the repetitive motion, the noise, the tedium. Becoming matching. xxx
I meant -
Becoming machine.
Look at this medieval factory and realize the the Roman’s invented the screw, and war lords couldn’t go any further than the Romans except in enslaving people.
It's a great poem, Alan. I've done boring, repetitive work, hour after hour. Eventually I was lucky to move on got other things, but this is life for many.
From a long time now automation has been replacing those jobs, so your poem makes me consider again what we mean by meaningful work, and how we ensure that everyone has a meaningful place in society.
Machining screws, one at a time, is in one sense a very poor use of a human. In another - a very good one. Boeing aircraft - back then - were a byword for reliability. But now?.....
It comes down to whether the humans making the screws were treated humanely - and felt valued as humans - and felt they could have a good life.
Automation appears to rescue many from mundane, repetitive, boring work and it increases overall "productivity" in the economy. The problem is that the wealth generated by that increased productivity is not distributed in a way that benefits the people who lost their job.
The result - boring, mundane work that at least allowed people to have a shot at a reasonable life is replaced by unemployment, the greater boredom of no job at all, and the despair of seeing no meaningful place or future in society. All made worse by a growing housing crisis in many so called "developed" nations (including my own).
First it was manual labourers being replaced. Then skilled trades people. Now so called "knowledge workers." The very very wealthy become hyper wealthy. Those on low wages or unemployed become destitute. Positions in the middle start to vaporise.
At some point, society will fracture totally.
Best Wishes - Dave
Thanks, David. Yes I am afraid we’re on a trajectory somewhat like what you’re describing. The housing crisis is devastating here in Canada. Average folks with decent jobs cannot buy a house in which to raise a family in a reasonably populated area. It’s not sustainable.
I once spent a summer working at a press that crimped the ends of long sheets of metal (8-12ft) for use as slide beds in a shop that made playground equipment. I also assembled baby swings, which was much more fun and far less dangerous.
So many odd jobs out there. Thanks for the read and the restack, Paul!