By Madeleine Kolb
Today is Labor Day, which has been observed in the United States and Canada since 1894. It commemorates the accomplishments of working people, so, naturally, we celebrate by taking the day off from work.
This may be because of our deep ambivalence about work. There is the money and the mostly pleasant and intelligent people we work with. But then there is the down side of work–some would even call it the dark side.
Like the job I got at a tie factory (more…)
By Madeleine Kolb
I’m a sucker for those quizzes I see online and in newspapers. Like this one:
Question: By 2050, the world population is projected to surpass 9 billion people, up from 6.8 billion people today. Nearly all of this growth will occur in the developing world. Which age group will expand the most?
Answer: “The age group that will grow the most by 2050 is the working-age population, or the 15-59 cohort.…Other than the working-age cohort, the other cohort expected to increase significantly is people 60 and older.”
I almost choked on my seven-grain cereal when I read this over breakfast. Since when are people aged sixtyplus not working? (more…)
So we tend to be oblivious of the obvious: along with the gray hair and many years on the job comes experience, invaluable experience. We witnessed a stunning example of this reality on January 15, 2009, when Captain Chesley Sullenberger, days away from his 58th birthday, safely landed an Airbus A320 airplane in the Hudson River.
We all know the story: the bird strike just after takeoff, disabling both engines; the rapid loss of altitude; the decision to land in the water; the flawless ditching which left the airplane intact; and the survival of all on board.
New York Governor David Paterson–no doubt caught up in the emotion of the event–pronounced it a “Miracle on the Hudson.” It seems to me, though, that we need not invoke divine intervention to explain what happened that afternoon. Let’s give credit where credit is due! And the credit goes to Captain Sullenberger, with over 40 years of experience as a pilot; First Officer Jeff Skiles; and the flight attendants on Flight 1549.
It’s interesting to note that it’s been only about 18 months since the mandatory retirement age for pilots was raised from 60 to 65. For years the “Age 60 Rule” had been defended on the grounds of the physical and mental decline presumed to commence on or shortly after a pilot reached his or her 60th birthday.