Man, I'm glad I'm not a roofer. The last 2 days I have had roofers replacing some cracked tiles and re-adhesing (is that a word?) some loose ones. These guys are up on my roof, no shade, 95 degrees and humidity. And I'll I can do is look out from my comfy air conditioning and think "Man, I'm glad I'm not a roofer." I give them credit though.. an honest days work for an honest days pay. Not like some people I know who barely work and just collect money. Of course, I'm a white collar guy. I may not sweat, but I think really really hard! I get headaches from thinking so hard sometimes! I may not risk falling off a roof, but my wrists hurt from typing. I don't have to smell tar, but I (did) have to smell farts from inconsiderate co-workers who mistook the workplace for a kindergarden class. Even us white collar IT folks have our own hazards!
Of course, some years ago, I did do some outdoor labor. I worked on a landscaping crew over the summers. I sweat my nads off, but always felt good at the end of the day.
But, I'm glad I'm not a roofer in South Florida.
Posted by Kevin at July 01, 2003 09:36 PMI don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. I as a fellow white collar guy know the work hazards we face. Let's see:
*Having our retinas destroyed by bad lighting and staring at computer screens for 8 hours.
*Burning 50 calories a day at work, gaining 30 lbs. in a year and developing "Office Butt"
*Getting a chill when the AC is up too high in the Winter
I'm sure I'm missing a few ;-)
Posted by: Glenn on July 1, 2003 9:43 PMTrue. I actually told my wife (who is an apprentice optician) that I am going to sue the eye industry for calling lenses "corrective lenses". They don't correct anything! Every year, worse eyesight. Damn liars.
Oh yeah, another..
* loss of social skills
Posted by: Kevin on July 1, 2003 10:01 PMwell,i've been a roofer for 32 years,and,after 17 joint,and other surgeries,at 51,am finally forced to call it quits,of course we in the trades always take it for granted,that our "job security" is only as good as our backs,our balance,and the ability to tolerate conditions,that could fairly be called "barbaric",but seeing the end of the road,has been a sobering experience,anyway,enough "crying in my beer",you're sentiments are shared by most folks..."thank god i'm not a roofer"..thanks for letting an old "roof dog",air it out!
Posted by: ralph newton on February 12, 2004 7:50 AMwell,i've been a roofer for 32 years,and,after 17 joint,and other surgeries,at 51,am finally forced to call it quits,of course we in the trades always take it for granted,that our "job security" is only as good as our backs,our balance,and the ability to tolerate conditions,that could fairly be called "barbaric",but seeing the end of the road,has been a sobering experience,anyway,enough "crying in my beer",you're sentiments are shared by most folks..."thank god i'm not a roofer"..thanks for letting an old "roof dog",air it out!
Posted by: ralph newton on February 12, 2004 7:52 AM