shot guns and pick up trucks

I’ve been working for the city for about 3 months now. One thing it has done is give me significant insight into the blue-collar community. Growing up I more or less socially scorned them and their practices thinking that they were somewhat Bush league. There is a website where you can type in your zip code and it gives a few words that describe the demographic make up of the area. If you put in 54487, where I grew up, you get the description "shot guns and pick up trucks." Needless to say, growing up in this community colored my experience and opinon. Like all people though, once you know one, your opinion generally changes. I used to wonder why they could all stand around a truck for ten minutes talking about one guys dog story, or about how one guy had to fix his water heater.

The truth is they need community just like we do at UBC. The truth also is, they do community very well. When one of them leaves, they mourn. When one of them gets hurt they get concerned. When one of them gets promoted, they celebrate.

I was tickled and taught by a conversation that ignored radio etiquette this last Monday, as I was patrolling. One of the maintenance guys gave instructions to the other over a radio. Then after about a minute after they had exchanged their have a good day I’m going home dialogue, the one guy comes back on the radio and asks in a tentative tone, “Hey, XXXX, how is your wife doing?”

I learn stuff from the blue-collar folks and if I’m honest I guess I’m one of now. They have a deep appreciation for life. I think they genuinely enjoy a lot of the simple things that I miss. I’ve actually inaugurated, well not me alone necessarily, we’ll say I’ve decided to participate in my own blue-collar practice of late. I meet with a couple of friends for happy hour on Friday afternoons. I hope I get as good at bullshiting about the same seemingly insignificant material. There is something magical about the way they live and enjoy life, and I’m going to figure out what it is.