So Long, Willis in anticlimatic

I was already running late when I rolled into the shop, and my first instinct when I saw the delivery truck there was to just keep going. My girlfriend’s car broke down the weekend prior, and I had to give her a ride to work that morning, so I was already behind and chomping at the bit to get moving. But then I remembered who was delivering, and my obligation as a man had me pull up and get out and get to chit-chatting.

His name is John, but we all call him Willis for some reason. Might be his middle name. And in just two short weeks, he’ll be retired. One of the last boomers I know still out there working. He knew my dad when my dad was of working age. He knew my Grandpa as well, which is really getting back there. Likes to mention him a lot to me. About how he would always come in and “give him shit.” My grandpa was originally from Quebec and wore a very Mario looking plumber’s hat, which he gave me at some point, and which I wear to work in the winter. He’d recognize it and tell me I looked like my grandpa, then remind me for the hundredth time or so how much he’d laugh when he came in to “give him shit.”

I asked him what his plans were after he retired. He doesn’t have a clue. Take up worm farming, he thinks. He told me a bit about it. I mentioned that I had fond memories of going to a particular field after dark and pulling them out of the earth with my dad. You’d have to grab them really fast and hard otherwise they’d suck right back into the earth on you.

My heart breaks for this guy like I can’t tell you. It’s not just that he’s one of the few people left that knew my dad and my grandpa, my two male role models growing up, but I can tell he doesn’t want to retire. He just delivers pipes, but he fucking loves it.

The absolute privilege of youth, to participate in the great camaraderie with the army of World Builders, is so much more rewarding than people realize. Doing your part well. Knowing you’re doing your part well. Engaging in relationship after relationship built on the trust people have, in you, to do your part well- and the gratitude you receive for following through. It doesn’t have to be a complicated part to be important. Willis delivers pipes and boxes… at least for two more weeks.

Work gets a bad rap these days. Something I find unfortunate, as people may be pre-emptively cutting themselves off from great sources of meaning. I blame the corporatocracy. Hard to fault someone for not wanting to work as a tiny cog in a giant evil corporation. But there is just something, separate from a paycheck, to improving the world around you. Even a little bit. Even for just one other person, or your cat, or yourself, or hell- someone who might happen to walk by someday.

After our brief chat I shook his hand extra hard. I wanted to offer him some kind words, some thoughtful ones perhaps, but I was feeling a bit emotional and couldn’t manage much beyond just repeating him back to himself, “yeah, should be a good change” that kind of thing. When we shook hands it was extra hard, hung with final goodbyes.

Last updated May 08, 2024