Find the Fun

I said I wasn't going to write any more about Cameron for a while but I was wrong. I have tried to write some other stories but at this point they just seem frivolous and lead me nowhere. So I have parked them in the shade for a while, as I continue to remember and share what Cameron was all about.

We all know he had strength and courage, a love of life and a great sense of humour. But we tend to overlook some of his other qualities - such as his independence and his work ethic. He worked almost four years at one of the most unglamorous jobs in the world and managed not only to stick with it - but to make it his own and find the fun in it. He was a dishwasher, plain and simple and he was proud of it - something that means a lot more than a fancy title or big pay cheque when all is said and done.

One of my favorite writers, Garrison Keillor once wrote a story about his first job - coincidentally as a dishwasher. He told of how proud he was of that job because it was his own, he did it well and it was his way of showing his independence. That sums up Cameron's work ethic quite nicely and I think Garrison would have liked Cameron a lot.

I am not making Cameron out to be some sort of working class hero, but I just want to make it clear that he genuinely liked what he did. He told me quite unashamedly more than once that he was the best dishwasher in town. How many of us can honestly say that about our jobs - and mean it?

I knew Cam missed working and he often said so. He was concerned about what he could do with his disability and knew his options were limited. That is why I was happy to have him come to work with me when he was feeling up to it. We found a task that he was well suited to - inspecting microfilms; a job I still do to this day. He was able to load and unload the film rolls on to the viewer, visually inspect the films, take down notes and enter the results into a computer database.  And all with one arm... which by the way never seemed to slow him down much. I even found out that as recently as last fall he had offered to work a weekend shift at the Lunar Rogue. Imagine that...

Cam certainly knew how to make the best of things at work and knew how to find the fun. He often talked about the slow times at The Lunar Rogue when he baked cookies, watched movies and had snowball fights. And one of his favorite things to do at work was to run errands for other staff members to pick up coffee, cigarettes etc. He saw it as a great way to have a break, do someone a favor - and to keep the change, which I understand was always part of the deal!

We could all learn a lot from Cameron's attitude towards life and especially from his attitude towards work. He did what had to be done, accepted what came his way and always made time to find the fun. He learned in 4 years what I haven't learned in 40, so I guess I'll just keep working and try to find the fun.