The Briar Philosopher - Whose Job is it Anyway? (FREE ACCESS)

Well, y’all, the air is still thick as pea soup from all the heat and (mostly) the humidity. When we woke up yesterday morning the humidity was at 87% and I don’t think it dropped much all day. Just going outside to take down a load of laundry from the line, put another load up and feed the animals, (all together about half an hour) left me wringing wet with sweat. I’m not usually one to complain about the weather but I’ll admit the heat and humidity are getting to me and, maybe for the first time ever, I’m saying, “Come on, September!” Of course with the weird weather patterns we’ve been having over the last several years, there’s no real guarantee that September will bring its usual relief. But a girl can sure hope mighty hard that it will. I know the heat and humidity is putting people on edge so I’m trying to be a little extra patient with everyone, including myself.  I really feel for those who are out there trying to survive with no air conditioning. Sure, the Boy and I grew up without it but I don’t ever remember such a long spell of such high humidity growing up. I do remember it from when I lived in Florida but even there a couple weeks at a time of this kind of weather would often end in a good break with lower humidity, if not cooler weather. Besides, this is Kentucky the last time I checked. 

So, what has that got to do with whose job is what? Nothing really. I just needed to talk about the weather for a bit. Maybe it’s my age. 

Okay, getting back to jobs and all, there has been some back and forth in the county lately as to who should be doing what. We had one letter come in praising our Fiscal Court Judge for stepping outside his job description to help with gathering trash and such. We have another letter this week in which the author thinks that isn’t the place of the Fiscal Court Judge. Now, I’m not here to say whose right and whose wrong but it all reminded me of how it was growing up, as most things do these days. Again, maybe it’s my age. 

My mother had pretty strict ideas about who was supposed to do what and what it boiled down to was that if something needed doing and you were the only person there to do it, it was your job. I know all of us kids tried at one time or another to say, “It’s not my job” or “Mark, Joe, Melissa, Paul was supposed to do that.” Then her eyebrows would go down and she’d give you that look that said, “Are you really going to make me say this again?” Then she’d say it again. “If you see it needs doing and nobody else is doing it, it’s your job.” Now that was meted out to all of us so there was always going to be a time when one of us was doing something that we felt was not our responsibility. We got used to it eventually and would just go ahead and do whatever it was that needed doing so as not to get that look when we complained about it. 

I know there were a lot of people in this county who were raised the same way, especially those who couldn’t afford to hire anyone to help get the work done. I also know there is probably a difference between family dynamics and how many may feel government should be run. The other thing I also know is that it’s often a no win situation for those in such positions. Help pick up the trash, you’re in trouble. Don’t help pick up the trash, you’re in trouble because someone's trash didn’t get picked up and it’s your responsibility to see to it that it gets picked up. 

Growing up the way I did, there were always a whole bunch of things that needed doing and there were only so many hands around at any given time to do them. Everybody had to pitch in. Whether it was drawing water for laundry, bringing in wood or coal for the stove, feeding the goats, pigs, chickens, geese etc, those things HAD to be done. 

There were, no doubt, times when I was a child that I felt put upon and that the situation was just not fair. A person's job is a person's job and that’s it. When you’re a child it can be hard to understand that not only do actions have consequences but inaction does as well. You want to be warm? Bring in the wood. You want clean clothes, dishes etc? You get busy and get it done. You want supper? Pick the beans and corn and tomatoes. Technically, I suppose, there are those who would say that those things were my mother’s jobs but, in reality, there was no way she could do them all. You helped out because you did indeed want clean clothes and warmth and supper and such. 

As I said, I’m not taking sides. The people of Jackson County will have their own ideas about who is right and who is wrong. All I know is what Mommy would say and I was rarely “too big for my britches” to the point I’d challenge her. Perspectives and opinions will vary, as they always do. The best we can do is try to sort them out given what we know and accept as right and wrong.