Because it’s worth trying, out here on the gravel-stricken bottom-feeding world, the street-level restless night where nothing makes sense but you’re kind anyway. I’m not always able to give out light as the colleagues I most look up to do, but I try. What greater, more richly romantic, elemental and vital act can I perform than driving up the block? Do you know what it is to build that with someone? You never see her again, but maybe that’s the point. Her goodbye smile needs no words it’s almost a shared secret. Respected, here on this bus by me, maybe more than other parts of her life. A young Latina mother’s eyes smiling, realizing she is valued. Losing it laughing over jokes I don’t remember. Smiling to myself at the construction guy standing in the back, bouncing slightly as he dances to a quiet boombox with his friend. It’s in the camaraderie of talking to the person next to you, trundling together up Jackson Street. It’s found in the eyes of the lost souls I gently steer toward a smile. But for me, the answer to those queries isn’t found in an office, or even on a set or darkroom. Could you imagine that I have found something that gives me equal fulfillment to the heady thrill of directing a film? Printing in the darkroom, staging a shoot? Regularly it surpasses those thrills, if you can believe it, because as I age I find myself asking the question more intently: Where can I do the most good? What can I do for others?Įveryone’s got a different answer, suited to their proclivities. I’d rather people who actually wanted those positions took them. The question is put to me often: Why don’t you go supervision? Apply for chief? Rise up in the ranks? Speaking for myself, I do it with pleasure. We do this job with our sleeves rolled up. These are the true stewards of modern life, these caretakers who keep animated our rumbling metropolis, feeding the sleeping giant at odd and swinging hours, ever moving, without expecting much in return. Let’s hope the powers that be are working at creating Grocer Appreciation Day, Wait Staff Appreciation Day, Laundromat, Flight Attendant, Security, Janitor, Dishwasher, Garbage Collector, HVAC, Nanny Appreciation and countless more. There’s something endearingly old-school about it, and yet who can argue the value of its intent? With COVID upon us, there’s ever more reason to be thankful. I love that they have an actual day for this.
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