Holiday Workers

It's festive time and everyone seems to be enjoying an extended break from work with friends and relatives. Some are having a quite dinner with near and dear ones, while some are partying wild into night with absolute strangers around them. Most people have been enjoying a much cherished break from work, some haven't seen the inside of their cubicle since Dec 21st, combining their Christmas / New Year break to have one long vacation.

On the eve of New Year, I was at an AMC movie theatre to catch the latest Spielberg creation. There was a reasonable sized crowd at the Mall, enjoying the last few hours of 2005. Some were on their cellphones exchanging greetings with their relatives in other parts of the world, while some were just having a merry time with their buddies and family. It seemed like the entire world had stopped working to enjoy the end of the year festivities.

But then I glanced at the lady behind the counter who was doling out tickets to the late night shows. I also saw a lady with a trash can cleaning the mess that people from the previous show had created. There were people behind the counter at the Soda/Nacho/Pretzel store. There were security personnel manning the parking lots and regulating traffic. On my way back I could see bus drivers religiously driving their routes and picking up drunk revellers from different bars. There were cops on the street, just incase there were any accidents. I then tried putting myself in their boots and seeing the world through their eyes.

These guys had chosen to forfeit their leave just to make sure that ordinary people like us enjoy our year end antics. It's true that they probably get paid 2.5 times their regular salary to work on holidays, but is that enough to make them trade their time with their family for work. There might be some who dont have a family closeby and might prefer to work for some extra dough, but I am sure a lot of them selflessly sacrifice their holidays to serve people like you and me.

As I reflected on some of these invisible hands which kept up the merry spirit, my memory jogged back to various such festive occassions. I could remember travelling in a bus on Diwali day, when the conductors and bus-drivers go about their business as usual. The same could be said about the ticket vendor at the railway station, the waitress at the restaurant, the doctor at the hospital and the fire-man who put off the fire from fire crackers.

The Holiday workers are the unsung heroes, quintessential to any successful holiday of ours. I wonder how many people realise that and show their appreciation towards them. So the next time you are having a grand meal on a Diwali / X-mas, show your gratitude and tip them generously with your words and wallet.