The Tao of Apathy Read Online Free PDF

Everyone
said they had common sense and could do “it” better, but when it
came to “all right, go ahead,” they were all “Naw, whatever you
think is best” or “What? Are you trying to get me to do someone
else’s job? Nice try, Bub. I got enough to do.”
    Joe sat and smoked and noticed that people had
a profound affect on each other and didn’t notice. A friendly smile
did make a person’s day and a thoughtless comment had the ability
to break down a relationship permanently. A supervisor’s small,
thoughtless comment caused a day of grumbling and a lifetime of
resentment. Everyone was caught up in his or her own problems and
ready to find fault with everyone else. Joe did not pretend to be
any different.
    Sometimes (everyday), Joe cracked out
criticism to anyone that had chipped him off. Nurses or dieticians
were often rude to him on the phone and he would take it out on
them on smoke breaks. He figured that the chances of anyone
starting a complaint form with “While I was out in the Butt Hutt…”
were slim. But because Joe knew the workings of Saint Jude’s, he
knew better than to make a comment anywhere else. In a dispute
between a professional staff member and a kitchen or housekeeping
or maintenance person, the kitchen or housekeeping or maintenance
person was in the wrong. It was assumed (by many, including some of
those people) that those people were not intelligent enough to be
in the right. Many even thought that the low-level personnel had a
mental ailment that made them act up. A professional did not have
to act professionally, just be treated professionally. Those on the
low end of the pay scale (or perceived to be on the low end) were
not people, but equipment. And equipment was to be seen and used,
but don’t try to attach feelings to them that just aren’t
there.
    Bigger often went with Joe to the Butt Hutt.
He did not smoke, but he liked to gripe. “That friggin’ Seuss,” he
said as he dropped his feet on one of the two long tables that ran
down the middle of the room. Ashes shot up from the table and
wafted towards Joe. “He wants me to get rid of my pants and my
shoes and anything else he wouldn’t approve of.”
    “ He wants you naked from the waist
down? Where do I sign up for that?”
    “ Yeah, he wants Mr. Stiffy to wave
to people as I push the carts.” Bigger was so sarcastic that Joe
felt proud to know him. But his sarcasm made Bigger uncomfortable.
Always ready to go toe to toe, Bigger hated confrontations. Or
rather, his reluctance to get into confrontations bottled up his
feelings until he was so frustrated, angry and sarcastic that he
wanted to fight someone.
    “ Hey, I never noticed before that
your name is a nickname for a Johnson. Bigger Steiffy.
Wow.”
    “ Can we just get back to Seuss? He
wants me to wear white pants, a white shirt and white shoes.”
Bigger wiped the ashes from his plum shoes.
    “ Well, Bigger, that is our
uniform. If you haven’t you noticed, all my work clothes are
white,” Joe said pointing to his clothes that were all white except
for the food, coffee, sweat and beer stains.
    “ But why? I don’t see why. I do my
job. I do it well. I used to wear all white, Remember? I felt like
a sperm. It made my legs look short. I didn’t even feel human. Plus
I think that that the right colored pants help protect me from the
invisibility rays.”
    “ Oh here we go.”
    “ There are invisibility rays in
the hallways, Joe.” He was talking loudly so others could hear, but
no one took note of him. “And they only work on me. I bring up a
food cart and no one says anything to me. I don’t hear a good
morning or a thank you. All I hear is, ‘Oh, look the food cart is
here.’ Why are they surprised unless they don’t see that it was me
that brought it? If I stand and wait to see if the nurses are done
collecting the dirty dishes so that I can take the cart, they don’t
see me. They never say, ‘Okay, you can take the cart’ or