Seize the day and overcome embarrassing situations

This archived article was written by: Leland Lobato

Recently I had the opportunity to see a part of the world that I had not been at all interested in finding out more about. It has to do with my recent change of occupation. So not only have I received a slight boost in pay, but encountered a particularly nasty entity known to the world at large as the graveyard shift. However with me being who I am, I would still rather do that than wake up early and go to work. I am a night person.
I woke up one day and noticed that there was an opportunity kind of wandering about the house like a burglar who just happened to come down with a sudden case of amnesia and did not quite know what it was doing there, so I seized it. This particular opportunity brought me into the employ of a coal mining company. I am not, however, a coal miner.
Now my father was a coal miner, and a pretty darn good one too. This being the case, I had heard about mining and other related topics for years. But since I started this job and actually work at a mine, I see it all from a new perspective.
The biggest thing about a mine, I think, is how it is like a gigantic team. If I were on a sports team and saw how a mine operates, it would inspire me to become better at my sport and my position on the team. Now if anybody is wondering how a coal mine could have anything to do with a sports team, please allow me to inform.
The first thing I noticed is that everybody has a particular job, or position on the team. Everybody learns what they need to do at their position and trains to become good at it. Each individual has several things that they need to do to make sure that the whole mine is running well.
One thing emphasized over all others, even profit, is safety. We are constantly reminded to be safe, even for people that never enter the mine. There are meetings on safety, people assigned to worry about safety and posters all over the place. I feel quite protected about the whole situation.
It is pretty cool the way people come together and form this huge machine of productivity. Many people work hard at this over three shifts, with each shift continuing the work of the previous shift. The foremen and miners utilize machinery that works on taking coal from the Earth. Thousands of dollars of monitoring equipment makes everything run correctly with a management team who is working hard to continually rape the land.
Beyond the fact that land rape is occurring, it is a wonderful process. It makes me feel that the human race is capable of just about anything that can be conceived. Just think if all this wonderful creativity and ingenuity could be used for good instead of not-so-good. I call it not-so-good because coal is used for many things that are beneficial and is therefore not evil. All it takes is the knowledge, the will and the people power. Yeh, for humanity.
If you made a commitment to teach a person something, there may be conflict about whether or not he or she is capable or ready. Anyone going up against you today will wish they had foreseen your preparedness. This was a horoscope reading I received in my e-mail today. I liked the part about anyone going against me and how they wish they would have foreseen my preparedness. Too bad I didn’t go anywhere today. I never even left home. I feel like I wasted an opportunity.
So, at this point, having seized on opportunity and let another slip beyond my grasp I shall create another. I decided to use the rest of this space to help somebody in need. I do not know who this person is, but hoping that they know who they are. It all starts with something extremely embarrassing that once happened to me.
When I was 14 years old, it was spirit week at East Carbon High School. All the classes had the day off to work on class floats for the parade we would hold the day of the big Homecoming Game. After a few friends wandered about town doing nothing constructive and having determined that there was nothing else to do, we decided to help our class. I should have gone home.
We went to our classmate’s house that was hosting the float-making festivities and asked what we could do to help. Mostly we ended up just messing around with everybody while 5 percent of the class did the actual work. At one point I went around to the backyard and that’s when it happened.
I can’t even remember why I went back there, but remember that I happened to be in view of at least half the class when I fell. Some may be wondering what could be so embarrassing about falling. Nothing really, you fall, you say ouch, you get up again and go on with your day. It was the getting up part that was embarrassing. As I began to rise, my classmate’s dog with only three good legs attempted to make nookie with me. Yes, I used the word nookie, but it is true, the dog tried to procreate with me.
Now pay close attention whoever you are that I am trying to help because this is the part known as the moral of the story.
What I am trying to get at is that I know there are people that encounter a situation that would for one reason or another make them feel self conscious, or embarrassed. Perhaps you have come across a member of the opposite sex that gives you that funny feeling inside. Maybe you want to tryout for something but worry about what people will say. Maybe you passed gas in a public place and it was loud. Maybe you want to try something new but are afraid to make a fool out of yourself.
So as you go out in the world and there is something that may make you embarrassed, don’t worry about it, you no longer have any excuse to feel that way. Trust me no matter what it is or what happens, there is nothing that could possibly be more embarrassing than being 14 years old and have a dog try to hump you in front of your classmates. If I could endure that, then you can surely handle anything you may encounter.
Now having said that, I do believe my work here is done, I go now to continue my everlasting battle to defeat the forces of evil, or at least the forces of not-so-good.