Sunday, July 31, 2005

Work is a Four-Letter Word

Although they say the only sure things in life are death and taxes, 'work' comes pretty close. Is being independently wealthy everything it's cracked up to be? I'll never know.

Two things that I've never heard are "I have too much money," and someone on their deathbed saying "I wish I spent more time at the office." The conflict between the desire for more and the wish for more time off remains immutable.

People line up pretty quickly against Manny Ramirez because "he makes so much money." That's a relatively weak argument in comparison with helping out your business because another employee (Trot Nixon) is unavailable for whatever reason. Responsibility to the team counts, too.

There isn't a business in America where corporate executive types receive exactly the same treatment as the men and women on the line. Doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs don't punch the clock. Well, maybe lawyers do, so they can get billable hours. As a colleague reminds me, "remember the Golden Rule, he who has the gold makes the rules."

Concerning the height of hypocrisy, I'd ask the following questions. "Do you ever not want to go to work in the morning?" "Have you ever called in sick or taken a personal day for a marginal reason?" "Have you given your employer and your job one-hundred percent attention, determination, and focus every day of your life?" "Have you ever been late for work?" "Have you ever left work a few minutes early?"

I've worked pretty hard for over the last thirty years from college, medical school, internship and training, and in medical practice. Have I ever struck out (yes), been overtired (all the time), disenchanted (certainly), disenfranchised (absolutely), or wished I were somewhere else doing something else (regularly)? My guess is that applies to practically everyone, because work is a four-letter word.

Was Manny Ramirez 'right' to insist on a day off because he had been promised one? Is Manny self-absorbed and immature at times? Does trading him for spite provide addition through subtraction?

Manny's a flawed athlete and professional, who's made mistakes and will continue to do so, here or elsewhere. We can get twenty-five choir boys and finish 0 and 162, or try to work with talented athletes to maximize performance. Which do you want?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ron,

You're right that everyone has the need for R & R. If my boss gave me a day off, I would fight for it.

Love,
Ellen

MyManMisterC said...

Everybody Loves Manny

The trade deadline looms, it’s almost 4 o’clock
Manny Ramirez’s fate is on the chopping block
He’s nowhere to be seen, he isn’t on the bench
The air at Fenway is sullied, the fans--their fists are clenched

The hometown Sox are losing, it is late in the game
And thoughts of losing Man-Ram’s bat may make the ballclub lame
But as the clock strikes 4, and the deadline comes and goes
A murmur from the faithful grows among the rows

Inside the Olde Team’s dugout, a familiar sight is seen
A character who was central in fulfilling Boston’s dream
They see his mighty forearms, they see his dreadlocked hairs
They see their favorite hitter climbing up the dugout stairs

The runners are in position, and Papi draws a walk
Here comes the chance for Manny to quiet all the talk
The chant starts through the faithful, “Manny, Manny!” fills the air
This man they booed a few days ago, all of a sudden no one could care

He drives the pitcher’s fastball, “Fair ball!” into the field
The runners turn the corners, the lead the Twins would yield
The Sox go on victorious, the lead still 2 point 5
Man-Ram was dead to Boston, but today he’s back alive

Can he bring the mighty Red Sox back to the games of Fall
Can he finally play like a superstar and give the Sox his all
I hope the answers are yes to my questions and my prayers
We’ll ditch him in the off season so we can pay more deserving players

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