From a friend of mine.....
John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock
(MADE IN JAPAN )
for 6 am. While his coffeepot
(MADE IN CHINA)
was perking, he shaved with his electric razor
(MADE IN HONG KONG)
He put on a dress shirt
(MADE IN SRI LANKA),
designer jeans
(MADE IN SINGAPORE)
and tennis shoes
(MADE IN KOREA)
After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet
(MADE IN INDIA)
he sat down with his calculator
(MADE IN MEXICO)
to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch
(MADE IN TAIWAN )
to the radio
(MADE IN INDIA )
he got in his car
(MADE IN GERMANY )
filled it with GAS
(from Saudi Arabia )
and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his computer
( made in MALAYSIA ),
John decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals
(MADE IN BRAZIL ),
poured himself a glass of wine
(MADE IN FRANCE )
and turned on his TV
(MADE IN INDONESIA ),
and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job
in AMERICA AND NOW HE'S HOPING HE CAN GET HELP FROM A PRESIDENT
MADE IN KENYA
Yeah, it's true... we no longer BUILD things, we just buy em...
ReplyDeleteVery true. And sad. It gets harder and harder to find true craftsmen here. I do what I can with old cars and radios, but some things cannot be taught by reading a manual. Experience counts.
ReplyDeletePart of it is the throwaway mentality. Breaks? Buy a new one.
I'm one of those people that will try very hard to fix something that's broke, as long as I can get the parts. And that can be a major problem. I guess it goes back to two things from my childhood; my Dad taught me "Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, Or Do Without", and my natural curiosity at taking things apart to see what makes them tick. Over the last year that I've been unemployed (soon to be changing!) I've fixed washing machines and dryers, sewing machines, dozens of PC's and laptops, and dozens of older radios for people. Some things I won't work on because I already know I either can't get the parts, or they'll be expensive and hard to get. I used to fix and "tune up" VCR's for people, and then they went to all gear-drive, no more drive belts or "rubber bands", and required much less regular maintenance. Then they got so cheap, that you could buy a new one for what I'd charge to fix your old one. The only ones I worked on after that were the high-end ones, and then DVD players came along, and the parts are simply unobtanium for 99% of those.
ReplyDeleteOh, well....