The Work Ethic

This is an open posting to Maureen Dowd, who I sometimes leave a comment with when one of her columns sporadically appears. I usually get shut out. Since her Sunday piece probably starts to appear online sometime late Saturday, there are those who can't wait to dive into the fray and read and leave a comment. This fills up her in-bin so fast that by the time I get there on Sunday morning--reading a Sunday paper on Sunday--I'm hardly alone in wanting to leave Maureen a comment. She has quite a following, seemingly from the comments I read mostly people against what she's writing, and exasperated with her in general. But there are those that like her, and that's what the game is about anyway.

I don't know what the attendance was at her recent book promotion appearance at the Union Square Barnes and Noble, but I'm familiar with the space, and my guess is it was filled. Anyone from the Times making an appearance in Manhattan would surely fill the seats.

And because I usually get shut out from the the comments section I wind up leaving a comment in an email to the Public Editor. That satisfies my itch to tell Maureen she doesn't work hard enough. And I've told her often, since her weekly column is hardly weekly. 

And today's posting satisfies my itch even more. It memorializes it.

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Maureen,

Years ago I worked for a company that had what they called an "R-Day" program in effect. When you reached 63 you only had to work a four-day week. The fifth day was considered an R-Day--with pay. The time sheet was marked with an 'R' on the day you chose to be out. You had to take the same day of the week off  for a year. Until the Monday holiday observances came into effect, most old-timers took Monday. Then they switched to Fridays.

The purpose of the program was to get employees ready for the day when they would shuffle off and enter the realm of grand-kids, cooking, golf, tennis, woodworking, volunteer work, and traveling, "enjoying" time with their spouse. When you reached 64, you got a year's worth of two R-Days a week. It was, without saying, an incredible enlightened employee benefit.

As I was with this company for 36 years there could have been a possibility I'd be on R-Days eventually. However, I didn't stay anywhere near enough long enough to reach 63, having started when I was 19. And anyway, at one point, they phased the program one year by drawing a line in the sand and saying anyone now 40 or over would get the benefit when they reached the age; those that were not yet 40 would never get it. I was less than 40 when the line was drawn.

Maureen, I have to think that now that you are over 60 the New York Times has offered you their own version of an R-Day program. You can go sometimes several weeks without filing a column. Down from the one a week the readers expect to see you file. In short, you don't work much.

Russell Baker, who is still with us at his Leesburg, VA home, (sometimes we write to each other) once complained that the columnists that were replacing him as he reached retirement didn't work enough. He filed three column a week for I don't know how many years He was certainly onto something.

Your work ethic might be good for Donald Trump, because the story goes when he met with all you mucky-mucks at the Times recently in the wood paneled boardroom with all the photos on the wall, he offered that anyone there, the Arthurs themselves, to pick up the phone and give him a call if there was anything they wanted to discuss. The offer was extended to all in the room, except you Maureen, because he said you were "too tough" on him.

My guess is that got a laugh. But really, why would the president-elect consider someone who hardly works as someone who might interrupt his sleep one night with a pressing policy concern?

You're on R-Weeks. You're never there anyway.

http://www.onoffrmp.blogspot.com