5 responses to “O Ye of Lowly Station”

  1. Brian

    My grandfather retired as a high school janitor, and I think people remember him better (and probably more fondly) than the principal. Sadly, those days are gone. Spectacular essay, Kim. Thank you!

  2. James

    I’ve always had the highest respect for people who work jobs that can be described in a word–like mailman, doctor, teacher, janitor, trucker, carpenter, and dare I say, bookseller.

    Just because those professions are simple to describe doesn’t mean they’re easy to do. Quite the opposite. And most of them are a hell of a lot more important to society than vague occupations like “business analyst” and “account manager.”

    1. Brian

      I love “consultant,” the title worn by disgraced politicians and CEO’s, everywhere!

  3. Kim Zupan | O Ye of Lowly Station: An Essay for Northwest Book Lovers

    […] From Northwest Book Lovers […]

  4. Amanda MacNaughton

    Kim, thank you so much for writing this essay. My husband is a farmer, another profession that is highly skilled yet receives little respect. The amount of things he has to know constantly amazes me. It bothers both of us how little farming pays, but I think the lack of respect for it bothers us more. I grew up around men who worked ranching, logging, or other hard, respectable manual labor jobs, and I have seen up close how much skill and intelligence such work takes. Thanks for expressing it so well.

Leave a Reply to James Cancel reply