other day, i recalled at least two jobs I once held, but today they aren' t there anymore. even a desperate job hunter wouldn't want to some of that work. the jobs were---reading electric meters (on foot!!!) and doffing in a wollen mill. the latter was work for our never-ending military needs. the mill was turning out wollen yarn for the 'new' air force uniform. a different color than the khaki which had helped win War II. i worked the grave yd shift, 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 next morning.  it was monotonous work, no doubt easily performed in a mill anywhere in the World, but undoubtedly, newer spinning machines have done away with the task altogether. looking back, i was glad to have the job, but my point is----there ain't no such work anymore. one of the very lg tenements whose meters i read isn't even there anymore----the neighborhod has been totally gentrified.

the other job was a simple one, picking up a 'book' of customer entries, 1/pg that showed the meter-reading for each mo. of the yr.-- four digits usually, which reflected that household's usage since the last reading. often, the meter was on the outside of the house, but in older buildings, eg tenements, the meters were all to gether in some dark corner of the basement. after a reading, the lucky reader trudged to the next one or set. sometimes, there were short tempered dogs who had no hospitality in them, & a particular sheet MIGHT  have warnings about such hazards to one's work. Today, the reader often is an employee of a contractor, driving from point to point in a pickup.pulling up in front while reading is done by hi frequency radio waves. This might be a better world, if the jobs still existed, but i have no wish to do them again.

upon graduating from college, i interviewed for ONE highly menial job. today, perhaps one of our numerous graduates would accep the slot, but my friends nearly all left for the Korean experience, many to not return, but today i sense the Luddites were on to something.