Surprised by Contentment

I’ve got four more errors to avoid in designing your next kitchen, but something far more important has come up:
Last Tuesday afternoon, I was serving as an Ambassador for the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce at an event called, Say Hey Olympia. My job was to be rather routine; sit at the registration table and check people in. But the event was anything but routine:
Say Hey, like so many Chamber events, is a networking opportunity for those who attend. But this event was for people with disabilities looking for employment and employers looking to employ this valuable resource. I was surprised by the contentment I saw in the people that came. We humans are so prone to stress out over the littlest things: “My hair fell out!” (it did), “I have a headache, so I can’t go to work.” Or “I have a hangnail!”
Let me tell you about some of the people I met: The MC for the evening was The Director of Vocational Rehab, Lynnae Ruttledge, a vivacious lady with a radiant smile – or at least half a smile. (I don’t know what her medical issues were, but in my uneducated observation, she has had a stroke.) The Joy that was apparent in her was captivating. I met a young man who was in a wheelchair and could barely use his hands to guide his chair – He is a recent graduate of Evergreen State College. Then there was Dale and his wife, Dawn: Both were blind. He had been a pastor in the past, and was, among other things, the president of SIGHT – Seeing Impaired of Gray’s Harbor T…. He was not going to let his blindness and hearing loss keep him from serving others. One young man could not hear or speak, yet he was responsible for helping the hearing impaired find employment in a ten county area!
There were two business persons who spoke to the group about their experiences in hiring the handicapped. One was John Setterstrom of Lucky Eagle Casino. He said that, in the gaming industry, it was not considered wise to employ the handicapped. One day a young man and his mother came in. The young man wanted to be a card dealer – he could neither hear nor speak, yet his personality was so captivating that John decided to give him a chance. After working at Lucky Eagle for a few years, this seasoned dealer moved on to the big league – Los Vegas! John said that this dealer opened his mind up to hiring those with disabilities. He proceeded to share the stories of a dozen others in his employ. John pointed out that a cheerful disabled employee had a positive effect on the entire staff. His advice: “Look beyond their disabilities to their abilities.”
The second speaker wasLaura O’Neal, the manager of Charley’s Safari – a family fun center. She told us that she had no children, but that she had 40 teenage girls working for her. (Think of typical teen issues and drama – multiply by forty!) She told precious stories about a Down’s Syndrome girl who loved cake (Charley’s hosts a lot of birthday parties). Her point was that this young lady was so reliable and cheerful, and had a calming effect on the drama between the rest of the staff. She also told of a stock boy with a compulsive-obsessive disorder who obsessed over keeping the inventory exact to the single piece of candy.
The point?: Here was a group of people who were content with the hand they were dealt, but were unwilling to let it keep them from living productive lives.
So much of our identity is wrapped up in or careers (Often, when we meet someone new, the first question out of our mouths is: “What do you do). Whether one is a CEO or a CGF (chief go-fer), one’s contribution to society matters. The people I met as Say Hey Olympia understand that!
We’ll get back to kitchen blunders next week. See you then,
Ross