Reflective shirt

When the water engineer went on his walk-about to the outback of Australia, he was issued with this 100% cotton reflective shirt. I tease him that he is a garbage collector. He retorted that then he was probably the most qualified garbage collector. I laughed, instead of being the water engineer, in America, he would be called a sanitory engineer.

When we were growing up, Mum and Dad used to tell us that if we didn't work hard, we would end up being a garbage collector. The garbage collector then was the lowest of all low career choice. The hot tropical weather made the rubbish to rot and stink. People did not bag their rubbish.

We, all nine siblings have all heeded Mum and Dad's advice and worked hard and received a college education. We look back with fondness of how one cousin who retorted his Mum's similar line of advice and how he rebutted that if everyone studied, who would be a stevedore. ( a stevedore's job is seasonal and hard work). In anger, his mum said, yes, the world needs stevedores, but it doesn't have to be you.