Part One:
A profile from Callings that taught me something about vocation was the beer vendor. This profile helped me understand the meaning of vocation. I say this because in the chapter Clancy says, "I was a Division I sprinter in college and I used to race guys up and down the hallways." (Isay 199). You may ask why this quote helped me understand? I chose this quote because Clancy was a very fast sprinter and he could have been fast enough to make a career out of sprinting, but instead, he is a beer vendor at a baseball stadium. It shows that he finds being a vendor his "calling" and by doing that job he has found his purpose as a human being.
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| Clarence "Clancy" Haskett making a living as a beer vendor in Oriole Stadium |
Part Two:
Another profile that helped me understand a theme in the book was the profile over Arnie Knapp. The theme that the profile helped me better understand was the theme of dedication. Arnie Knapp was a coach driver for touring musicians, so he had to be dedicated to his job because he spent long periods of time on the road and away from his family at home. Dedication to his job was shown all over in this chapter, but the passage that stuck out most to me was when Arnie was talking about what the touring business had done to his marriage. While talking about the time he's spent with his wife, Judy, he says, "In our twenty-five years, the most time we've ever spent together in a single block of time is about six weeks." (Isay 205). This screams dedication because if that was me, I'd want to spend as much time with my wife as I could. But for him to stay dedicated and persevere through endless driving and time away from his family shows the true character of Arnie Knapp.
*link is short interview with Arnie the, "Road Daddy".
Nice journal. I'm glad I waited to post mine so we didn't do any duplicates. I knew you were going to grab the sprinter, but I had trouble coming up with a good part 2 for mine until I hit the NASCAR racer.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could spend that much time away from my wife. I think the most I've ever managed was a week and we still remained in constant contact via phone/computer. You are right about dedication.
Tony I liked how you focused on that word vocation, as that's one thing I really thought about a lot as I finished the book. I want to do work that feels like I was called to do it, and I"m suited for it. I think that pursuit is ongoing and changing as I change! Like Kai, I don't think I want to be away from my wife as much as a trucker would have to be, but it makes me understand the sacrifices a lot of people have to make, and some are okay with that. I think of all the overseas foreign workers from the Philippines who leave their families for YEARS just to provide for them. Not easy, but needed for so many in this world.
ReplyDeleteI definitely could not be away from everyone that cared about me for that long.
ReplyDeleteI cant imagine what its like to spend so much time away from family. Some of my uncles are truck drivers and I've seen them disappear for 2 months at a time. Sometimes it feels like their gone for years.
ReplyDeleteI think Clancy's story was one of the best pulled from this book.
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