on hard work

i meet the best people at work. people that are just good, good souls. i just made a new friend. his name is reid. he is old, but not as old as richard. he has worked at byu for the electrical shop for decades and decades. today i had to accompany him as he worked on a project. usually when we do this, we bring a book because nobody talks and it can get real boring. reid talked to me. so much that he didn't finish his project. he asked me what my major was. when i told him, he proceeded to tell me about his daughter (who lives with him) that just got a new foster baby and how he is already too attached to her, even though he isn't supposed to be. he started to cry when he told me that sometimes this foster child says "daddy" because she misses her parents. he told me that i should call his daughter and talk to her about foster parenting so i can write a paper on it. he told me all about the electrical wiring, power sourcing, and installing that needed to be done on this project as if i was his partner. but i had no idea what he was talking about. i just kept saying, "this is tricky". when i had to rotate back to one of the desks, reid walked part way back up with me. i told him that we could be friends now. he said "yeah like on that website where you become friends". i said "facebook"? he replied "yeah, my friend signed me up for it and now i'm hooked."

i think i'm going to add reid as a friend on facebook.

i noticed that reid's hands are cracked and callused. he works hard. i admire people that know how to work hard and put in honest effort. i think people in reid's and richard's generations know how to work hard. it was a part of the learning process. i love that.