Another Way: So God made a factory guy
(With apologies to Paul Harvey, radio commentator, who wrote “So God Made a Farmer.” And if you’re not old enough to remember Paul Harvey, Google or Wikipedia him.)
God knew someone would need to do the work not everyone wanted to do, so God made a factory worker. The worker would often get up at 3 a.m. to be able to take his time in the bathroom in a place that was clean and off the clock, and then drive 45 minutes to work to make sure he was there by 5 a.m. Thus, God created the faithful factory worker.
This worker-Dad would put in his 40- or 45-hour week and then sometimes be asked to also work Saturday and even Sunday if they were very busy, so God made a strong and dedicated factory worker.
And on snow days when it seemed like every other business courteously closed to keep workers off treacherous and curvy mountain roads and interstates, he would call the factory’s “snow alert” line only to hear the same broken message: “Our plant will be open today for work, but be safe. Use your own judgment.” And the factory guy wearily plowed or shoveled him/herself out at 2 a.m. to be able to arrive at the plant on time.
God knew the world would need men and women willing to run machines, drive skid loaders, keep track of inventory, apply noxious glazes or paint, and basically do anything the powers that be asked them to. So God made humble women and men whose shoulders slumped as they drove home and then sat in their cars or trucks for 5 to 10 minutes to get the energy to place their sore tired feet onto the sidewalk and go into their house or house trailer.
And on Friday nights when the worker came home he’d tell his kids or wife to PLEASE not answer the phone because he never knew (from experience) when his lead man/boss would call and ask him to come in to work the next day, especially if something special — like a birthday party or a trip to a zoo — had been planned by the family. So God made a worker who sometimes kept the phone (before cellphones) off the hook.
The factory worker sometimes missed his child’s softball, baseball or basketball games because of work, but went when he could and sometimes felt sad and bitter that he couldn’t always get there on time.
The worker God made got used to gobbling his lunch down at work in 10 minutes or less, so he’d have time to get back to his station in the huge warehouse. Thus God helped factory workers eat very fast and not take time to use the shabby and sometimes soiled bathroom stalls before hurrying back to work. Or if asking if he or she could go to the restroom, the response may have been “You can go when you get far enough ahead of your work load.”
Oh, and heat, or cold? The factory guy or gal has to live with sweat-inducing temperatures nearing 90 degrees inside the workplace in summer, and freezing fingers in winter. There may be some fans, but no air conditioning or adequate heating in those large spaces.
The man or woman sometimes felt stigmatized for not having the greatest grammar in the world, and for not knowing how to pronounce certain words, and having a southern or Spanish or other accent.
God nudged the factory worker to always remind his children to study hard in school and take it seriously so they wouldn’t have to spend their working years in a factory — unless they chose to.
After all, God knows the world needs factory workers who are happy to help make or process the things people need and want: cars, clothes, cupboards, china, candy, coffee, you name it.
So, God made a factory worker, or two or 20 million, to whom everyone owes their unending thanks, appreciation, and respect.
Comments? Write to me at anotherwaymedia@yahoo.com or Another Way Media, P.O. Box 363, Singers Glen, VA 22834.
Another Way is a column by Melodie Davis, in syndication since 1987. She is the author of nine books. Another Way columns are posted at FindingHarmonyBlog.com a week after newspaper publication.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Why we owe unending thanks to the factory workers
