Sunday, February 9, 2025

Jack

There was a construction worker who went by the name of Jack. He was searching for a new contractor to work under because his previous contractor fired him for being hostile with the other construction workers. Jack reckoned that it would be no easy task to land a job with another contractor now that his previously-clean track record had been muddled. But construction work was all that he knew, so he set out to find a new job all the same.

Eventually, Jack found a contractor that he thought he might have a good chance with—a place called Second-Chance Contractors that specialized in giving workers with less-than-perfect track records a . . . well, a second chance. They also focused on teaching their workers valuable life skills and helping them succeed in the workplace. Jack was able to land the job easily on account of the fact that he was in need of a second chance and the contractor was called Second-Chance Contractors.

Jack's first assignment with the new contractor was to join a team that was in the midst of fixing up a pothole-laden road. The road was not only laden with literal potholes, but also gigantic cracks and uneven pavement. This was the case BEFORE the construction team had arrived at the site, and it was still the case NOW. Jack was beginning to have doubts about this contractor. Perhaps they specialized in giving construction workers second chances, but it seemed that they did NOT specialize in doing their jobs well. And, at the end of the day, which of those two things was more important?

But Jack knew that he couldn't be TOO picky about the working conditions. He had been in need of a second chance, and Second-Chance Contractors had given him JUST that. So he was going to do his job. And despite how those around him worked, he was going to do his job well.

Now, at the previous contractor that Jack worked at—FIRST-Chance Contractors—all of the construction workers brought their own sediment to construction sites when they were required to fill in holes, cracks, and the like. Since this was what Jack was used to doing before, this was just what he did now. He unloaded his sediment from his rust-colored pickup truck and brought it over to the nearest crack in the road. He didn't have to carry the sediment very far at all before he got to the nearest fracture. Jack got down in the mud and began his work. As he began filling in the crack with his own sediment, he began to notice the other construction workers giving him odd looks. But Jack just continued to work, chalking the odd looks up to the fact that he was the newest hire around the site.

Half an hour goes by, and Jack is still down in the mud, doing his hard work, filling in the crack, while the other construction workers are sitting on their hands, not getting any work done at all. Then, Jack spotted a corporate man standing some feet away. And Jack noticed that the corporate man was watching him intently. Jack knew that he was a corporate man on account of the shiny three-piece suit he was wearing in contrast to the shiny construction gear that the knuckleheads were wearing. Eventually, the corporate man made his way over to the crack that Jack was working on. Jack noticed the corporate man coming over, and he assumed that the man was coming over with the intent of thanking Jack for the hard work that he was putting into filling the crack. Jack stood up from the ground, dusted his hands off on his pants, ready to shake the corporate man's hand, when, much to the surprise of Jack, CRITICISM came from the corporate man's lips rather than praise.

More specifically, the corporate man said: "You can't use that sediment," gesturing to the sediment that Jack was using.

Jack said: "Pardon?"

"That sediment doesn't look like the sediment that the other workers are using. I'm assuming that's your own, homemade sediment?"

Now, as far as Jack had seen, the other workers hadn't been using sediment of ANY kind. Jack had a mind to tell the corporate man that this was the case, but he figured that it might not be the best idea to smart off to corporate on his first day; if the workers at Second-Chance Contractors were this helpless, he couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of work that went on over at THIRD-Chance Contractors. So, instead, Jack simply admitted that he had in fact been using homemade sediment. After all, this practice was completely normal at First-Chance Contractors. Jack couldn't imagine why that wouldn't be the case here.

But, apparently, it wasn't. The corporate man informed Jack that, here at Second-Chance Contractors, all construction workers used the sediment that was provided by corporate; they all used the same sediment. Jack was completely aghast. He had never heard of such practice. But Jack had no other option but to oblige by this strange rule. So he packed up his homemade sediment and went over to gather some of the sediment provided by corporate. He took the corporate sediment over to the crack and continued filling it while the other construction workers continued watching the grass grow.

Now, over the years, Jack had been able to construct the perfect sediment recipe. He knew the perfect balance that was required to ensure that the sediment wasn't too thick, wasn't too thin. It was the perfect consistency for Jack to work with. The same was not the case for the corporate sediment. Their sediment always either dried too fast or not fast enough. Jack tried desperately to patch the holes and cracks, but these obtrusions just ended up looking even sloppier than before on account of corporate's poor excuse for good sediment. Jack began to wonder if, perhaps, the poor state of the construction site was a testament to the quality of the sediment rather than the quality of the workers. But Jack still had his good working attitude. He continued to work with what he had up until the lunch break finally arrived.

Jack was absolutely steaming by then. It was very frustrating to work with the corporate sediment after having worked with his own, perfect, homemade sediment for YEARS. Now, he was completely convinced that the other workers weren't bad at their job—they just refused to work with the sloppy sediment. And he didn't blame them one bit.

As all the workers gathered around a couple wooden tables to share sandwiches, Jack noticed that the corporate man had packed up and left the site. It was just the working folk now. And because of this, Jack felt no remorse in venting his anger.

"This is unbelievable," he said. "I cannot believe that we have to all use the corporate sediment here. Back at First-Chance Contractors, we got to use our own sediment."

Jack looked around, waiting for the other construction workers to chime in with their opinions. But none of the other workers said a word. They just continued to stare at him.

So he went on: "My homemade sediment was perfect. I was able to whip it up to where it was the perfect consistency—not too thick, not too thin. I had come up with the perfect recipe. This corporate sediment is garbage!"

Jack waited for a response, but still, there was nothing.

"I can't work with this stuff!" Jack gestured over to the vat of corporate sediment. "Look at the holes that I tried to patch up! Look at the cracks that I tried to patch up! They look even worse than before!" Jack was fuming now. He was stomping around the site as he yelled.

Still, none of the other workers spoke a word, but they all continued to stare at him, listening.

After a few minutes of yelling, Jack's face was beet-red. He was panting heavily, standing right next to the vat of corporate sediment. As he finished his rant, he stared at the other construction workers, all gathered around at the table, munching down on their sandwiches, perfectly content.

"C'mon, guys!" Jack yelled, as he kicked the vat. The large container toppled over, and the hot, thick, oozy liquid spilled out onto the road. "Aren't you guys mad?" Jack yelled. "Surely I'm not the only one who shares this sediment!" #lamejoke

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