There are days and there are days.
Today was a day. And it was that kind of day.
I’m not going to sit here and pontificate about how awesome my job is and I love every minute of it. Quite frankly, there are things that I have to do to keep a roof over my head that make me grit my teeth and just push through it. I can guarantee you that thinking about profit margins and productivity levels are the last thing I want to do. But they are there as part of my job and I do them.
Lately, I’ve been having to do those things more than I wish I had to. Staring at a computer screen analyzing numbers is mind numbing. Having to be the boss, is the last thing that I want to be.
But then there are days like today.
After a week of essentially not touching a bike, I get 9 full hours of wrenching. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel tired. I didn’t feel drained. I felt rejuvenated and enamored with my job. Taking the time to properly grease a bmx bottom bracket or true a wheel that I may never see again, gives me a sense of accomplishment. It makes me feel like there are things within my power that I can do to make the world a better place.
In this society of throw away products, I can take a bicycle and assemble it in a way that will keep it running for a long time. There is nothing quick or easy about that process, but it is the right way to do things and I feel proud for having done it.
So today, I raise my glass to the wrenches that work with me. My fellow mechanics make me proud to turn a wrench. I raise my glass to all those techs out there putting their time in the trenches without the advantage of benefits or, in some cases, a livable wage. To all those techs, who just do it because it’s the right thing to do.
Here’s to us.
http://mooseknuckleralliance.org/mooseknuckler-musings/a-wrenchs-manifesto/
Peace. Love. and Revolution.