Occupations

Some jobs I wouldn't want to have:

-Attendant in a TJ MAXX dressing room. I was in one yesterday and the people working there always seem to be sorting through mounds of unbought clothes. Sometimes I tell them I am buying the item, only to return it to the rack it came from.

-Bookstore clerk. Like libraries people go to bookstores with physical descriptions of books, rather than any bibliographic info. Clerks without the benefit of training (unlike librarians) often come up empty unless they have a photographic memory. Or are well read.

-School bus driver. Think of the responsibility. I keep thinking of Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter. Then I think of my old driver from elementary school, who passed away within the last 10 years. She shouted a lot and had to drive on very windy, not well kept roads.

I've been talking to 6th graders at a local school this past week about library programs. I have also asked them to think about what they would include if they built their own library. The classes have contrasted greatly. Today's class was polite, listened to me and had thoughtful comments. It made me realize how hard it is to be a teacher, and that I'm glad I am not in 6th grade any more.