A friend of mine once pointed out how, for every bizarre, mundane, or dorky thing you can think about encountering, there's a person performing a job--hell, possibly even pursuing a career--to bring it to you, the clueless consumer/observer. For instance, ponder those display crustaceans at seafood restaurants. Someone's spending time polishing them to a sheen to make them attractive to you the ravenous seafood-eater, so that you may order said crustacean of a meal, enjoy it fully, and never think of it again.
Similarly, I find out while listening to NPR on the way home that there is a person--more than one!--who spends time tossing frozen turkeys into airplane engines to test against bird strikes. Sure, we're happy these brave souls tirelessly perform their jobs (as I'm sure are the people on that U.S. Airways flight). But can you imagine a kid in this world pining, pining to grow up to be a turkey tosser?
2 comments:
Reminds me of a time I was waiting in an airport to pick up someone. A woman and her young son were waiting near me. The boy was maybe three or four and was getting bored, so the mom tried to distract him by asking him to show her how daddy flew the airplane. I'm thinking he'll mimic moving a plane tiller, or putting his arms out like wings and flying around. Instead, he starts mimicking the guy with the lighted batons who directs the plane to the gate. So...not the pilot's son, as first thought.
There's going to be one disappointed tot when he gets set straight at the "What Our Parents Do" show-and-tell at school.
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