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| Illustration by Mark Satchwill |
It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure
Written by Katherine Tomlinson
Illustrated by Mark Satchwill
The job fair had only been open for an hour and Lindy McAuliffe was already ready to gnaw her own arm off to escape. It wasn’t just that the only people who were coming up to her table were pimply faced boys who were working as mall security guards and got hard at the thought of carrying a gun, it was just that the whole scene depressed her.
Her table was set up in the middle of a large-sized community room at a senior center that was jammed with job-seekers. The air was thick with the reek of desperation.
The woman at the table on her left was promoting a continuing education program at L.A. Valley College, the table on her right was manned by an executive from a fast-food franchise who told her that his sector of the service industry was booming.
She wasn’t surprised.
She wasn’t even surprised to see people in suits—and not just cheap suits—lining up to sign his clipboard and take his card.
She kept reading that the country’s economy was getting better, but if it was, the people in this room hadn’t gotten the memo.
She sighed as she saw a middle-aged man making his way toward her table.
“How you doing young lady?” he asked.
“Good morning sir,” she replied, emphasizing the “sir” slightly.
He smiled a little at that, as if he got the subtle dig at his age and appreciated it.
“Oh, I’m not here to sign up to be a peace officer,” he assured her. “Even if I were younger, I don’t think I have the right temperament.”
She smiled noncommittally, hoping the guy would move along to bother someone else.
“Do you enjoy your job?” he asked her.
“Yes sir I do.”
He nodded his head as if that confirmed some conclusion he’d already processed.
“You find it fulfilling then?”
“It’s very rewarding sir.”
He nodded again. “You like working with the public? Interacting with the citizens?”
“Yes,” she said, “I do.”
Except when people waste my time with stupid questions, she thought.
“Well, that’s good,” he said. “It’s good to have a job you like.”
Lindy smiled at him again, hoping it didn’t look strained.
Go away.
As if he could read her mind, the guy gave her a jaunty two-fingered salute.
“You have a good day Officer McAuliffe,”
“You too sir,” she said.
