Seconded.
On 25 Feb 2009, at 13:21, John Hudson wrote:
> Bob ............ take the wink out of your humble submission.
>
> This is one of the most thoughtful and sensible postings to this
> list in a
> long time.
>
> More people should pay attention to this message.
>
> jh
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bob Whitmire" <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 9:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [OM] Ritz going under
>
>
>> On Feb 24, 2009, at 5:00 PM, Chris Crawford wrote:
>>
>>> Highly intelligent people simply will not take low-wage employment
>>> except
>>> when they're in school.
>>
>> Sorry to disagree, but this simply isn't true. And while I am loath
>> to characterize myself as "highly intelligent," I still must add that
>> I willingly and with malice aforethought took a job paying fewer than
>> $10 US an hour five years ago. I work for an agency that provides
>> residential support to mentally handicapped people. I get health
>> insurance. I work a shift that runs from 7 p.m. Sunday to 9 a.m.
>> Tuesday. This gives me a two-day work week and a five-day weekend,
>> which I use to further my photography ambitions. (And yes, my
>> "regular" pay drops to minimum wage for 14 of those hours, as I am
>> asleep. See, I get paid to sleep!)
>>
>> But that's only part of the story. At risk of being tedious, I submit
>> that my last work, as a newspaper editor for a property owned by the
>> New York Times Co., was much higher paying and provided me with a
>> much higher community profile. But it was dirty work that sucked the
>> soul right out of my body. I finally had to leave that life behind,
>> which is why I'm living in Maine and working for a pittance. But I'm
>> much happier than I've ever been, and my life is much more
>> satisfying. The photography sells well in season, buys my equipment,
>> and pays for a few other things such as airline tickets to England,
>> snow tires for both cars, and vacations with friends in Florida.
>>
>> My gainful employment, on the other hand, provides benefits and
>> enough money to pay a share of the bills. Furthermore, metaphorically
>> speaking, it is "the Lord's work," that is, it's work that's not
>> about me and my benefit and my material advancement. Believe me, when
>> you work with the population I work with, you become humble quickly,
>> or you move on. (Yes, I am at heart a very humble person, though I'm
>> sure that seldom comes across in my posts. <g>)
>>
>> Maybe having an autistic son also brought me to this point, as it
>> became impossible for my wife and I to both care for him and pursue
>> lucrative career paths.
>>
>> That said, I could make more than I do, but I choose not to. We have
>> food, shelter and clothing, and, with my wife's income, enough money
>> to pretty much get by. No, I don't have the 52" Plasma, and am not
>> likely to get one. My car is a seven-year-old Subaru station wagon,
>> and my wife drives a Toyota Yaris. We are not likely to be in any
>> more than that any time soon. But that's okay. It's our choice, and I
>> believe we're the better for it.
>>
>> (And I do have that Nikon D3 and a couple of nice pieces of glass,
>> which the photography paid for in one year's time.)
>>
>> My thesis, I suppose, is that highly intelligent people have the
>> mental acuity to figure out how to do what they want to do with the
>> resources at hand, and it doesn't always mean going after piles of
>> cash.
>>
>> Humbly submitted <wink>
>>
>> --Bob Whitmire
>> www.bwp33.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>>
>
>
> --
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