One group that either loves or hates me is teachers.

They are fairly easy to make fly up like a skyrocket. Actually it's mostly women that are easy to troll.

I have made my life at sea and do better financially than an awful lot and even maybe most teachers. It is because of what I do. They make what they make because of what I do.

 They fail to understand that some of us are paid for our inconvenience. We don't get to go home every night.

We miss a lot. We miss the birthdays, the graduations, the holidays with the family, often including Christmas. Over the years I have spent any number of Christmases at sea. The money is generally what keeps people in the industry.

The thing I say to people that think it's unfair that things are that way is that I offer to pull a few strings to get them a seafaring job.

They invariably refuse citing being away from home as the big issue in most cases. A few play the I love my job angle also.

Then I point out that I have offered them a shot at making more money and that they have refused it so they really have nothing to complain about.

There actually is an exception. One.  Many years ago when someone asked me how to get into the business I gave him a list of companies and contact information.

He got hired and left for the West Coast the day after school ended. He spent the entire summer working on a tug on the Alaska run and quit teaching and stayed on.

I had given him my phone and address and he called me a couple of times with questions about getting an AB and tankerman endorsements on his Z-card.

Apparently he likes working on the water and has not gone back to the classroom. 

One thing, too. He isn't complaining about teacher's pay.







To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY