Posted by Gordon Maney on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 at 0:01AM :
In Reply to: What do all you do for a living???? posted by dave on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 11:21AM :
First of all, I have to say this is an absolutely astounding thread. I have read almost all of the posts. First I looked at the size of the column, and then once I started I could not quit.
I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood, and spent an enormous amount of time on a friend’s farm. I worked in a scrap metal yard operated by a former Marine Corps drill instructor. He functioned as my father.
I worked for a short time initially after college in industry, but my love for all things automotive led me to work as a mechanic and then as a vocational automotive instructor for 14 years. That was the best job I have ever had. That ended when a report called A Nation At Risk caused the biggest swing of the education pendulum from the practical to the academic that this country has ever seen.
I worked again in industry at a specialty machine shop and fabricator as a designer and project manager, then worked for seven years in technical service for Kwik-Way, a manufacturer of automotive machine tools. I now work for a manufacturer of high speed packaging equipment for the beverage industry, most notably machinery that produces gable top cartons for milk and juice (a seriously declining market), and is now entering the plastic bottle filler market.
I work on the 600 page manuals covering the machines, which are essentially constantly evolving prototypes. If you have ever seen the cartoon Dilbert, I am in it, sitting in a cubicle, pursuing maddening and tedious details. At least I get to do a fair amount of CAD work, using Solidworks and AutoCAD.
I also publish the Power Wagon Advertiser, something I have done since 1984. That is how I have come to know a great many of you folks, and this is the most satisfying part of my life.
As Clint Dixon said, I live across the road from corn and cows. I live on 15 acres and have since 1978. I have the luxury that I can keep all the trucks I want, and I can to outside and pee on my front lawn if I choose and I can go sight in a rifle or shoot a handgun in the area out behind my buildings.
Welcome to America as I know it.
Follow Ups: