A Long Time

I’ve been doing construction safety for a lot of years. I’ve also been speaking in front of people since college.

There’s one rule that all my clients and all their employees know:

“I eat first.”

I showed up mid-morning for my gig yesterday and the nervous host said:

“You may go on at 12:30, but if one of the speakers doesn’t show I may need you to fill a half an hour before.”

“Whatever.”

“What do you need set up?”

“Nothing.”

“How about the audio-visual if you have to go on early?”

“Don’t worry about it?”

“You just gonna’ stand up and talk without notes?” He asked.

“Get away from me,” I said.

He laughed.

And that was what I did. For well over three hours.

They were in the palm of my hand and I watched them laughing, and I had one thought, over and over again.

“Damn! I’ve been doing this a long time.”

I picked on guys in the audience, told stories about my wife and kids, made fun of Taylor Swift and the Bills, laughed along with guys who joined in and told their own stories, and the time just flew by.

I felt more energized when I was done than I had going in. A young black kid walked up to me and said:

“Man, I never expected that out of a safety class.”

I told him what I’ve told a whole lot of guys who’ve listened through the years.

“I want you to remember me when you’re on the verge of doing something really dumb.”

He laughed again, and we shook hands.

It’s a two-day event.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” he said.

And I headed away, wondering about the thousands that I’ve spoken to through the years…

…there are moments when I wonder if they truly use what they learn.

I thought of my friends who are teachers. Most certainly, they made a difference in their careers.

Is there a way to measure it?

Did they get burned out after doing it for a long, long while?

It’s hard to answer those questions, but this is the first year when I’ve truly wondered.

It’s the first time when I’ve considered if I wanted to continue to do it over and over and over.

Yet, tomorrow will come and I will treat it like a performance and give it all I have because maybe someone will really listen.

And that still matters.