In Labor

 
Hank Phillippi Ryan: So, the unemployment rate is more than nine percent, and that means a shocking one in ten of us is out of a job.  That means nine in ten of us are  counting blessings.

In my family, the moment we turned 16 we had to get a job.  Do I have to, I wailed? Nope, my step-father said. Only if you want to live at home and eat at home.  I went from door to door, applying for work, and finally got hired (this was in 196--7?) at a dry cleaners.

 The guy behind the counter came out with a form for me to fill out, and I picked up a pen to do so.

Left handed? he said.

Yup, I said.

Sorry, he said. I can't train you if you're left-handed.

No job. And, as it turned out, no summer of being exposed to PCE and TCE and other hideous carcinogens.  I finally got hired at the Dairy Queen, where the scariest thing was calories. The world is an amazing place.

I'd planned on being--in order: a cowboy, a waitress, a stewardess, 

a ballerina, an actor, a geneticist (until I attempted chemistry)  a lawyer,

the lawyer for the mine workers union, an English teacher, a disc jockey.

The reality: I've been a proofreader at a publishing company, a saleperson at a dime store, a clerk in a record store (my fave) and then an organizer in a political campaign,
 

a radio reporter,

 a legislative aide in the US Senate, an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine, and then, for the past 35 years (!) a TV reporter.

 Oh, and an author! (Lovely.)

 So on this Labor Day, we wonder:  what do you do for a living?  Is it what you thought you would be? Did your labor life turn out the way you planned?

 And if you're looking for a job, the Tarts are here to help. Feel free to say so--and list your qualifications!  Maybe the power of Lipstick will create a connection.