“A work of art is the unique result of a unique talent.” Oscar Wilde
Lately at work I’ve been getting some “light-hearted” flack about my age. I was born in 1948, do the math I’m not making it easy for you on a Saturday morning. ;-) I am the oldest in the office except for one person. Kathy is our person in charge of trying to guide people through the ever complicated and unfriendly skies of getting Medicaid and financial help. The next closest in age in probably my friend Suzette. She is one of the hardest workers in the office. In a supreme irony we are the only ones in the office to know the tornado that is hitting our office come Monday morning.
When many people think of the older generation they think of the stereotypes of the inflexible set in their ultra conservative ways who knew life was better in the old days before government or uppity foreigners or women or gays or take your pick of boogie men tried to destroy this great country of ours. The people who rail against the perceived storms and who are in reality frightened of change.
I laugh at the ladies as work who are really only less then 10 years younger then I am because I know what I have accomplished in my life. I can look at my life and know that I have loved and been loved. I can look back at the young people I worked with who have grown up to get involved and work to make life a better place not only for themselves but for others. I have learned my strength and weaknesses. I have worked to use my strengths wisely and tried to improve on areas where I am weak.
All three of us “senior citizens” at work have some things in common. We all love animals. We hurt when we lose a pet. We share pictures of our cats and dogs. We don’t care if the non animal lovers roll their eyes up at the ceiling when we talk about our pets latest escapades. We know that you can tell a lot about the real person by observing how thy feel and act towards animals.
Suzette and I share a love of science fiction, a genre that most of the office feels is silly. The rest of the office however feels that good television is the “reality” shows. I don’t care who won American Idol or who the biggest loser was or who was thrown out of the Big Brother house. I would prefer to watch the Stargate team trying to figure out how to defeat the Ori. I was glued to my set during the five night Torchwood mini series “Children of Earth.” In both of those shows there were serious questions about real life that reality shows don’t touch. In Stargate the fanaticism of the Ori pushing their religion as the only way and you must believe and follow them or perish resonates in our own world with religions refusing to tolerate and live with other religions. “Children on Earth” dealt with the politics of giving in to the demands of the strong and the profiling and the way that many in power regard others who are “not like us.” It showed in full horror that what is disposable in society are its people.
Suzette was the one in the office with whom I shared my John Barrowman CDs. She is chuckling her way through his outrageous autobiography. I knew she would be interested in his works because of the science fiction connection to Doctor Who and Torchwood. She is also one of the few people in the office who wouldn’t condemn him because he is gay.
In age for all three of us ladies is a continued work ethic. We are the late shift and our boss knows that we are actually there working. We aren’t on the phone or the internet or gossiping. We work. We do the jobs we are being paid to do. We are the ones who know that Monday morning our boss is moving to another position. The new manager is the new girl on the block who saw through the pettiness and childishness in the office from the start. She came to us through Clarion Health Care and the hospital announced the other day that we are now in an agreement with them. The day of the free ride is over.
Lately at work I’ve been getting some “light-hearted” flack about my age. I was born in 1948, do the math I’m not making it easy for you on a Saturday morning. ;-) I am the oldest in the office except for one person. Kathy is our person in charge of trying to guide people through the ever complicated and unfriendly skies of getting Medicaid and financial help. The next closest in age in probably my friend Suzette. She is one of the hardest workers in the office. In a supreme irony we are the only ones in the office to know the tornado that is hitting our office come Monday morning.
When many people think of the older generation they think of the stereotypes of the inflexible set in their ultra conservative ways who knew life was better in the old days before government or uppity foreigners or women or gays or take your pick of boogie men tried to destroy this great country of ours. The people who rail against the perceived storms and who are in reality frightened of change.
I laugh at the ladies as work who are really only less then 10 years younger then I am because I know what I have accomplished in my life. I can look at my life and know that I have loved and been loved. I can look back at the young people I worked with who have grown up to get involved and work to make life a better place not only for themselves but for others. I have learned my strength and weaknesses. I have worked to use my strengths wisely and tried to improve on areas where I am weak.
All three of us “senior citizens” at work have some things in common. We all love animals. We hurt when we lose a pet. We share pictures of our cats and dogs. We don’t care if the non animal lovers roll their eyes up at the ceiling when we talk about our pets latest escapades. We know that you can tell a lot about the real person by observing how thy feel and act towards animals.
Suzette and I share a love of science fiction, a genre that most of the office feels is silly. The rest of the office however feels that good television is the “reality” shows. I don’t care who won American Idol or who the biggest loser was or who was thrown out of the Big Brother house. I would prefer to watch the Stargate team trying to figure out how to defeat the Ori. I was glued to my set during the five night Torchwood mini series “Children of Earth.” In both of those shows there were serious questions about real life that reality shows don’t touch. In Stargate the fanaticism of the Ori pushing their religion as the only way and you must believe and follow them or perish resonates in our own world with religions refusing to tolerate and live with other religions. “Children on Earth” dealt with the politics of giving in to the demands of the strong and the profiling and the way that many in power regard others who are “not like us.” It showed in full horror that what is disposable in society are its people.
Suzette was the one in the office with whom I shared my John Barrowman CDs. She is chuckling her way through his outrageous autobiography. I knew she would be interested in his works because of the science fiction connection to Doctor Who and Torchwood. She is also one of the few people in the office who wouldn’t condemn him because he is gay.
In age for all three of us ladies is a continued work ethic. We are the late shift and our boss knows that we are actually there working. We aren’t on the phone or the internet or gossiping. We work. We do the jobs we are being paid to do. We are the ones who know that Monday morning our boss is moving to another position. The new manager is the new girl on the block who saw through the pettiness and childishness in the office from the start. She came to us through Clarion Health Care and the hospital announced the other day that we are now in an agreement with them. The day of the free ride is over.
Looking back at my life what do I see? I learned I could survive an abusive marriage and I had strength I never knew I had. I learned I could help my niece out of her abusive marriage and into a loving a stable relationship because I told her she had to give herself permission to love again. I can look back at the science fiction conventions I ran for charity. I know there are people literally alive today because we bought a Resusci Annie doll for our local Red Cross. I know that there are babies with AIDS whose dying has been spent in loving care because of the money we donated to Starcross Community. I know when arthritis made it impossible for me to do the kind of artwork I always had done that I could turn to the computer and I have the art awards that show others love my art work. I can look back at my poems and short stories that have been published in papers and on the internet. I have photos of my own Princess Bride, my niece in the dress I designed and made for her for her wedding day. I see the love and gratitude in my mother’s eyes daily that she doesn’t have to spend the end of her days alone. She knows that I will be there for her to help her in any way I can. Most of all I have learned compassion. The three of us at the upper age range in our office are the ones who care the most about others. We have found a personal happiness in being able to help those less fortunate then ourselves. In walking away from the pettiness that is the norm where I work come Monday morning Kathy, Suzette and I will be able to smile and go with the flow. We may be goofy about our animals. We may like silly science fiction and chuckle at one of its outrageous stars. But with even a little decade separating us from most of the others we have found a serenity that they are missing. I made a conscious decision at the beginning of my life to take the road less taken. It has taken me to some very strange and wonderful places. It is a road that has been punctuated with activism because I am determined to leave the world a better place. It hasn’t been an easy road but damn I have had fun along the way.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment