The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: job

  • Anchorage

    No, not the city in Alaska. The word. A place to drop anchor. Most people long for this. Now that I’m a homeowner again, I kind of feel like I’ve finally found such a place. It’s wonderful. It’s a huge relief. As a matter of fact, for the first time in my life, I look…

  • Drawbridge FAQs

    So, there’s actually a person making the bridge open and close? Yep. I get that a lot. Nice to meet you. While there are some automated drawbridges out there (mostly railroad bridges in remote locations with little or no pedestrian traffic), the vast majority of drawbridges have a human operator. Safety is our primary concern,…

  • What Do You Do?

    Americans sometimes shock people from other countries by asking them what they do for a living. In many places this is considered rude. Here, it’s almost as if you can’t really decide what to think about a person until you know what’s on their resume. In Seattle, I often hesitate to tell people I’m a…

  • Why Did You Become a Bridgetender?

    One of my faithful readers/new friends asked me that question recently, and I realized that I’ve touched on the subject in this blog in the past, but never really addressed it in full. So here goes. I’ve been working and/or studying since I was 10 years old, and I’ve had 23 different jobs. Some of…

  • My 15th Tender-Versary

    On this day back in 2001 I operated a drawbridge for the very first time. It was kind of a strange time to be a bridgetender, because 9/11 was only 6 days past, and everyone was nervous and confused and angry and afraid. And we weren’t sure if it was over. And bridges make great…

  • Loving My Thankless Job

    A friend of mine recently pointed out that I have a thankless job. As a bridgetender, I’m always shocked to discover the vast number of people who don’t even know I exist. People tend to assume that all drawbridges are automated. They don’t realize how lucky they are that most aren’t. People can easily die…

  • Making Too Much Cents

    People get all funny when it comes to money. It always seems to take me by surprise. Maybe because I would never pull these stunts myself. Three examples from my life: I once dated a guy who was all about splitting bills right down the middle. Fine. I’m a big girl. The problem would come…

  • Why Drawbridges Should Not Be Automated

    I’ve got to confess, I’ve visited the NPR website, where you can find my interview, about a billion times. I’m proud of it (except for the horrible picture in which I weigh about 50 pounds more than I do now). The page also allows for comments, and I’ve participated in those quite a bit, too.…

  • Give Yourself a Raise

    Recently I got a raise at work, and I was thrilled. You have to understand. For 14 years I worked in a non-union job, and we got a one dollar raise every 6 years, which, needless to say, did not keep pace with the cost of living. And we’d have to fight to get that.…

  • Me at My Most Politically Incorrect

    I probably shouldn’t be writing this, but hell, I’m thinking it, so why not? I have to say I love working with men. Well, I do now, anyway. For most of my working life I’ve been in male-dominated jobs; the lone female in the pack, so to speak. At first it can be awkward. Some…