The Perfect Worker

God bless Arthur Winston. At age 100, he decided to call it quits after working for an amazing 76 years as a maintenance worker at the Los Angeles area public transportation authority. At age 100, he only missed 1 day at work. This was the day that he buried his wife of 65 years. He has not been to the doctor in 50 years, and he is still in good heath. He never took a day off either. In today's times this is pretty much unheardof. I have three weeks of vacation that I usually take full advantage of. I have sick time, and I can work from home utilizing internet technology. Arthur Winston did not have any of these luxuries. He started working in 1924 where there were few opportunities for African Americans to work, and before the civil rights movement gained momentum. He wanted to become a mechanic, but when opportunities did not open up to him, he took the next best thing available to him, a job in the maintenance department. He worked without complaint ever since.

I think that this is an amazing story. Sometimes we take for granted the privledges that we either have or do not possess in the workplace. I see many people caught up in the climb toward the "American Dream", that we don't really fully appreciate the blessings that we have. This guy never smoked, never drank and really enjoyed his job. I am sure that he had to bite his tongue and make sacrifices just to keep living. I am happy for him, I hope that I can continue to work long enough just to enjoy a purposeful life like Arthur Winston.

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