Work that matters .

Two men were sitting at the bar after work, as men do. The first man, Larry the Lawyer, was bemoaning his day. “Oh, how much of the legal profession is drudgery,” he said. “I spend hours of my day filing useless motions then spend even more time in court on behalf of clients who commit the most heinous acts,” he continued.

The other man, Barry Bottle Cap, nodded and sipped his beer. “Yur, I see,” Barry said.

“I don’t get paid enough for what I do,” Larry said. Despite his years of education and the prestigious status of his profession, he felt an unhappiness on the inside; Larry’s high-minded ideals of lawyering did not match his day-to-day experiences of the job. “I wanted to fight for justice, protect the innocent, and prosecute the guilty.” He said. “I don’t feel like my work is important, nor do I see the fruits of my labor.”

“Yur, I see,” Barry said.

Larry turned to Barry. “Now, what do you do, sir?”

Barry turned to Larry, then looked up, staring blankly into the ceiling. He had not been asked this question for such a long time that he forgot the answer. Finally, he remembered what the sign he saw before entering the factory each day said.

“Bottle cap!” Barry the Bottle Cap said triumphantly.

Larry frowned. Then he recognized that Barry meant the bottle cap factory at the outskirts of town. Larry had been there once for a work trip, of course.

Barry then explained that his job at the factory was putting the ridges on the bottle cap. Each day, thousands of metal circles poured through the machine and he pushed the button that pressed the bottle cap into shape. He had worked there for years and was grateful it provided a stable income for Barry, his son, his dog, and his other son that was so ugly that he almost looked like a dog. “You knew the bast part about the job?” Barry asked.

Larry finished his beer and the bartender gave him another. “No, what is it?” Larry replied.

“Wale, you see that bott-ol cap?” Barry pointed to Larry’s beer. “I made that earlier to-day. Everyday, I see the fruits of my labor.”

Larry nodded, and sipped his beer.