People think that suburbia is boring, and yes, it is...which used to drive me crazy when I was a teenager. But there are people here quietly doing difficult work that must get done...people who should be recognized and amply rewarded for what they do. Instead they're ignored most of the time, and not paid much at all.
We gave our gardener a Christmas bonus, but are we really paying him enough? He is so conscientious about gathering the leaves from our lawns, driveway and patio; and these are sizeable areas. Plus we've had so much wind lately that the volume of leaves is at least three times what it normally is. But he gathered them all this morning (he must have been here for an hour) without any complaints, and without cutting corners. He's getting a raise; that's all there is to it.
I just spoke with one of the crossing guards at my son's school. He's worked that same intersection at the school for 11 years, and in that whole time, the salaries have never increased. He's in a step pay system, and is now on the highest level--but even that level is still only a few dollars above minimum wage. They should raise the salaries of every step of that difficult, stressful job, for crying out loud. Like they do for any other city employee.
Eleven years of protecting kids and their parents, at an intersection that must see about four or five hundred cars go through during the dropoff, and again at pickup. And he's just about the nicest guy around, though he sees people behaving like jerks at that intersection, all the time. They're having trouble hiring enough people for the crossing guard positions in this town. Is it any wonder, when they putting their lives in danger every day, and get paid so little for it?
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