Musical accompaniment: Risque by Los Españoles

 

Even with the Internet, Americans know very little about each other’s lives. With the size of the United States, you’d think the biggest differences between Americans would be geographic.  But in my opinion, the real differences are in the work we do and whether we live in an urban or rural setting.

Working in an office can be difficult, no doubt about that! But until I started my own business, I always had jobs where I got training and there was someone to ask if I didn’t know an answer.  Now when I’m in doubt, I figure it out! It gives me a new appreciation for and curiosity about the work people do.

Working class jobs require a tremendous amount of expertise and ingenuity.  Take this fellow for instance. He’s a rat catcher. It can’t be easy to catch a rat! They’re wily creatures, known for their survival instincts. This man is armed with some sort of contraption but you have to be a pretty capable person to outwit the rat and catch it without getting bitten.

Here is the “World’s Smallest Newstand” in New Orleans. It seems to be a one-man job.  It would take a lot of brains to operate a newstand. You’d have to order the papers, stock them, sell them, and figure out what to do with the unsold ones. Probably a lot more than that to it!

These women are working at a laundry in Boston. One of them is operating a wringer.  This kind of work is more tedious. You don’t have a lot of new problems to solve but it would require patience, attention to detail, and some level of perfectionism. This photo was taken in 1906, before radios could provide any entertainment or break from the monotony.  Either these ladies were deep thinkers or great conversationalists.  And look at all the work waiting for them!

Lastly, take a look at the workers from the levee in New Orleans. They’re waiting for their pay after a week of back-breaking work. You see the sun is still rising in this picture. It would have been very hot sticky work for most of the year.

 

Did you see Has It Come to This is available? It’s taken me a long time to republish my books but it’s finally done! Has it Come to This would be a great Christmas present for any true crime lovers in your life. A real Christmas Eve murder mystery!