Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The SWEAT Pledge

We shipped out A LOT of cattle this past month.  It's just that time of the year.

And it rained A LOT in the first part of the month.  We had something like 3 inches in 24 hours at the beginning of July and then it rained steadily up until about a week and a half ago.  The fields, gardens, and flowers look fantastic, but I am watering the garden these days because I don't want mother nature's hard work to go to waste!




One of the pitfalls of all the rain, though, is MESSY cattle!  (And smelly, but I'll spare you that torture.)




The other morning (after sending 4 loads of cattle off to... eh hem... market), Dave came in for breakfast stinking to the high heavens.  His jeans were caked in manure. What followed was something like this:

Carrie: "You're disgusting!"
Dave:  "You shoulda seen the cattle."
Carrie:  "I feel sorry for the high school drop-out who has to deal with that mess..."  (I'll let you use your imagination to figure out the first step in cattle processing...)
Dave:  "Hey now, don't judge.  He's probably a union worker who makes more than you and I put together."

Touche, touche.

I couldn't stop thinking about this lovely conversation that the hubs and I had...

Fast forward a few days later when I found this interesting post by my TV/Bathroom cleaner crush Mike Rowe!  He strongly believes that 4 year degrees aren't the beat-all-to-end-all, and is trying to pump more life into skilled trades!  (Personal disclaimer:  TOTALLY AGREE!!! WHEN WILL THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM REALIZE THIS!?!?!!)

He is awarding $1 million in scholarships to UTI--Dave's alum-- Universal Technical Institute.  All he asks is that if you are awarded a scholarship, you also sign his S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, which stands for Skill and Work Ethic Aren't Taboo.  Please click HERE:   to go directly to his web page where you can read more about this program.

My favorites of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge items are:

3.  "I believe there is no such thing as a "bad job".  I believe that all jobs are opportunities, and it is up to me to make the best of them."

4.  "I do not "follow my passion".  I bring it with me.  I believe that any job can be done with passion and enthusiasm."

7.  "I believe the best way to distinguish myself at work is to show up early, stay late, and cheerfully volunteer for every crappy task there is."

and my VERY favorite:

9.  "I believe that my education is my responsibility, and absolutely critical to my success.  I am resolved to learn as much as I can from whatever source is available to me.  I will never stop learning, and understand that library cards are free."

Finding and reading this S.W.E.A.T. pledge grounded and humbled me.  Sometimes I get caught up in my professional, white collar world where "Everyone should go to college!" is being shoved down my throat every time I turn around.

God bless the guy who has to clean the hides off the beef that come off a semi-trailer after riding for hours to the packing plant.  Seriously, what would life be like with out that guy?  I hope he IS paid well, finds his work satisfying, and brings his passion with him!



1 comment:

Mary and Elaine said...

I firmly agree with you, Carrie. We NEED people to do these jobs and do them well. We should not demean these people. And, our educational system should recognize that not everyone is going to do well going to college, and we should provide another route for them to achieve success. The English system recognized this LONG ago and had different educational paths for people.