Applying for a Job - Now and Then

Dad was an old time mechanic; he could fix just about anything having to do with automotive devices. I recall him saying many times that all he needed to work on a Model T was a pair of pliers and a piece of baling wire.

Both my Mother and Dad have passed on; well I am 83, so that kind of figures. About 1960-65, Shirley and I visited them in Mineral Wells, Texas. I took my video camera with me, even though it was large and bulky. Sure glad I did however, because I interviewed both Mother and Dad and we talked mostly about their earlier days.

When he was in his mid-twenties, he heard that a pipe line company was looking for someone to operate a pipe laying machine. Dad was looking for work at the time, so he told a buddy about what he had heard and they both went to see if they could get a job.

I asked Dad how they got to the job site which was about 45 miles away and he replied “we walked”. (We pulled 45 mile hikes in the Marines quite often; but if I were to try it today, I would need the support of about 2-30 ounce bottles of Univera's All-in-one Superfood - Essentials).

At the time I was with an airline and a part of my job was involved with employment. Applicants I was accustomed to see certainly wouldn’t have considered making that type effort to apply for a job.

When Dad and friend arrived at the job site, there sat a strange looking machine, one he had never set eyes on. The foreman asked Dad if he could operate it and Dad asked for a few minutes to look it over.

He then told the foreman that he could run the machine and demonstrated that he really could do just that. The foreman wanted to hire him on the spot, but Dad said he wouldn’t take the job without his buddy as swamper.

After some talk, the foreman agreed and Dad and his friend worked until the job was completed.

How many people do you know who would walk 45 miles to apply for a job they had just heard about; not knowing whether there was really a job vacancy?

If anyone knows one person fitting that description, they know one more than I do.

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