“When You Do a Job,
You Get Paid”
“Don't you wish you could take a single childhood memory and blow it up
into a bubble and live inside it forever?” Well I do!
Last weekend I camped at Joshua tree national park with my
wife. We were having a casual conversation and she asked me to share
a childhood memory which I never told her before. I gave her a wooden face. I thought I told her everything from my childhood days
to the time I met her. I stretched my brain muscles and finally I got something
simple yet effective story from my child hood.
I was about 9 years old. I remember this particular visit to
my farm at my village on a hot summer day during holidays. On that day I became an early bird all of a sudden.
Reason being the previous night, my dad told me that I had a job to do
at the farm. He said “when you do a Job, you get paid” He has not
disclosed what I will be paid or what my job was. This statement from my dad
was resonating in my mind like a stretched string from the moment he
said it to me. I was excited, enthusiastic and eager.
Since it was very early in the day, I can hear the roosters
crowing and the pigeons cooing. My dad took on his bicycle and I sat on the
back carriage. We were heading on this narrow and unpaved road. Along the way,
I observed several people doing several different jobs like milking cows,
Bringing water, cleaning utensils, people selling breakfast etc. I thought to
myself “when
you do a job, you get paid”
It was about 30 minutes ride on the bicycle and we reached
our farm and I became the most observant kid in the whole wide world trying to notice each and every person doing his/her
job. We have 20 acres of coconut farm.
We have to park our cycle at some point where we need to cross a small
canal on which a coconut tree trunk was placed for people to cross it. My father holds my hand and helps me step by step to cross this canal. We have
to walk another half kilometer to reach our hut. We operate the bore well and keep our
belongings there.
We have a tube well which we use to pump the ground water
and use it for irrigation of the coconut trees. There was a small pool. Bathing
at the bore well was my favorite activity as a child. I thought someone has
built this bore well and someone else must have built this pool. I thought to
me again “when
you do a job, you get paid”
I got into that shallow pool lying on my back and staring at
the sky. Since it was already hot, my heart desired a drizzle. I was
thinking about the job and the payment I was about to get.
A group of 10 workers came and were talking to my dad. It
took no time for me to realize that there is coconut harvesting will be done.
They do this every 45 days. They climb the tree; cut the pre ripened coconuts.
Everybody has a definite job. Someone climbs,
someone collects and someone categorizes.
My father got me a chair and I am just watching them waiting for the
time when the task will be assigned to me.
While I sit at the pile, my father walks around to check on the people
who were climbing. This piling happened until noon. The day was so hot that you
can bake a cake in the sand.
The goat
keepers at our farm offered me the lunch that day. They are vegetarian and the
fun part was they don’t eat with the hands. They cooked rice and the gravy. One
person mixes and put it in the banana leaf. You have to eat with your mouth
directly. Food melted in my mouth and it
was all in the best possible taste.
Post lunch everyone gathered at the pile and everyone
started peeling the skin of the coconut and then the counting started. My dad called me and gave me a thread. He
asked me to tie a knot for every hundred I hear when they count out loud. I
realized immediately that was my Joyful
job. I was busy as a bee the
whole time and successfully completed the job.
The next day my dad took me to the town and bought me an
electronic watch for 30 rupees. It is a big deal for a school going kid. I was
on cloud 9 for at least some days.
That’s how I got paid for my first job. It was my father’s way of saying
nothing comes for free and “When you do a job, you get paid”
I would like to conclude my speech with a simple quote from
Julian Barnes. “Memories of childhood were the dreams that
stayed with you after you woke.” So my fellow toastmasters, when
you have a moment recollect any good childhood memory and I am sure you will be
glad to cherish that moment.
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