Pride

Flipping through an old notepad from 1994, I happened upon an entry from May of that year that brought back a poignant memory which has a timeless relevance. My mission on that day was an errand trip for one of my employers (I often have two or more at a time) which lead me to a local hardware store to procure a couple of band saw blades. These were made into "bands" by pulling a measured strip of blade material off a stock roll, cutting it, and electrically welding it end to end to form a useable loop that would fit your machine. Not a special operation in and of its self.

What made such a mundane task so memorable was the person performing the task. An older gentleman, early 70's, probably retired from some other career, but, with that particular firm since I had begun doing business there a decade earlier. While there were many much younger people employed there who could have managed the chore, this gentleman still set himself apart from the "watching the timeclock, rather be somewhere else" demeanor of the 20-somethings with his attitude. He was always genuinely interested in helping me, and businesslike in his execution of the task. He proffessionally and meticulously did the cutting, welding, and buffing as though he intended those blades to be the finest products the store had ever offered, and company reputation depended on it. Sincerity and integrity seemed to fill the air around that man, and the exceptional job he did was manifest evidence of the pride in workmanship he enjoyed in not only a job well done, but, in being able to demonstrate that it could be well done - for me. And he had no trouble displaying the same qualities to subsequent customers ad infinitum. I took the liberty of asking about his attitude, and, after thanking me for noticing, he explained that he came by it "honestly" as an adolescent, mainly the result of working with his father.

Now, the value of instilling such a legacy in families is so important that it will get it's own space later. But, while pride can and does get a bad rap in these days of political correctness, (unless it's displayed by a social group with an agenda) I believe it of intrinsic value to society in the propagation of civility, the lack of which is so emphatically decried. If you're confident in your own situation, that confidence is often noticed and literally "rubs off" onto other people, just like the smile that often accompanies it.

Once again, to paraphrase my 1945 reference work, (which will henceforth be cited as often as necessary) pride shows its self as a consciousness of "upright conduct", noble actions, or the like; a noble self esteem resulting from an appreciation of one's own dignity, character, or position; in other words, self respect. With the parenthetical allusion in the last paragraph duly noted, pride under these definitions must originate with motivation and integrity. Like respect, it must be earned by deeds guided by morality to be genuine, and cannot be appreciated, or, even warranted, without that legitimacy. With the credibility of that legitimacy, however, and, displayed in the manner of the gentleman at the hardware store, pride can be a powerful motivator for civil interaction in society from which we all benefit. It can move one from a collectivized, initiative lacking, and amorphous "yes, we can" to a self determining "yes, I will" and, ultimately, to a ruggedly individualistic and self reliant "yes, I did."

Pride is indeed something to aspire to. And, for the personal benefit, if for no other reason, I highly reccommend we all do.

Taking for granted that not all of us have the luxury of being able to always manage a positive outlook at work, let it be noted that the gentleman at the hardware store was not subject to the turnover rate of the other younger employees.

I would think that many of you have had a similar experience to mine that day long ago, but, can you remember how often or when?