Terkel: "Work" The Last Three

As soon as my Korean friends even other International friends found out I'm an English major, specifically studying writing, they'd continuously ask me to proofread their papers.  I didn't mind and have pictured myself making this as a possible career.  For this reason, I chose  Tom McCoy's profile on proofreading.  Unfortunately, there's not much to say because he centered the entire profile on his boss and how his boss is intimidated by him and the young workers.  Not that this information is irrelevant, but I was hoping to get more detail in this job.

The second profile I chose was Herbert Bach, a memorial counselor.  Another possible career I hope to achieve is that in counseling.  What in counseling you may ask?  That's my problem: I'd love to do any type of counseling.  Marriage, family, addiction, school, anything!  But this is the first time I've heard of a memorial counseling.  I wouldn't go into this type of career since I have a history of attending funerals at a young age and have avoided them since.  However, Bach makes a great point when he says, "I am not a grief psychologist.  I think death is a personal thing.  We feel we have to do something to help people overcome their grief" (506).  This is interesting in that one could easily view a memorial counselor as a grief counselor.  In reality, death is a personal thing and must be dealt with personally.  There is only so much a counselor can be exposed to by their client.

Lastly, going along with this funeral theme, I chose the profile on the gravedigger known as Elmer Ruiz.  I was curious to know what he thought of his job and surprisingly, "I enjoy is very much, especially in the summer" (509).  Again, here is another example of a person who enjoys their jobs.  (I've seem to come across a lot of them recently.)  I couldn't picture myself having this kind of job, but after reading Ruiz' experience, the way he views death is not in a negative way.  And death should not always be sad.  Yes, it's not easy to accept the death of a child, but we all die at some point.  And this career is not to dwell on the emotions of losing a loved one.  Instead, it's showing respect and saying goodbye.