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I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon.
The Atlantic ^ | 12/25/2018 | Austin Murphy

Posted on 12/26/2018 9:30:48 AM PST by Incorrigible

I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon.

Austin Murphy
Author and longtime Sports Illustrated senior writer

Holiday parties were right around the corner, and I needed a cover story. I didn't feel like admitting to casual acquaintances, or even to some good friends, that I drive a van for Amazon...

...Let's face it, when you're a college-educated 57-year-old slinging parcels for a living, something in your life has not gone according to plan. That said, my moments of chagrin are far outnumbered by the upsides of the job. There's a certain novelty, after decades at a legacy media company, Time Inc, in playing for the team that's winning big, even if that team is paying me $17 an hour (plus OT!). It's been healthy for me, a fair-haired Anglo-Saxon to be a minority in my workplace, and in some of the neighborhoods where I deliver. As Amazon reaches maximum ubiquity in our lives, as online shopping turns malls into mausoleums, it's been illuminating to see exactly how a package makes the final leg of its journey.

There's also a bracing feeling of independence that attends piloting my own van, a tingle of anticipation before finding out my route for the day. Will I be in the hills above El Cerrito with astounding views of the bay, but narrow roads, difficult parking, and lots of steps? Or will my itinerary take me to gritty Richmond, which, despite its profusion of pit bulls, I'm starting to prefer to the oppressive traffic of Berkeley, where I deliver to the brightest young people in the state, some of whom may wonder, if they give me even a passing thought: What hard luck has befallen this man, who appears to be my father's age but is performing this menial task?

Thanks for asking!

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: amazon; austinmurphy; bezos; economy; gig; journ0list; media; msm; murphy; poeticjustice; sportsillustrated
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To: Red Badger
Young people these days don’t read; Magazines or otherwise. If it cannot be spoon fed via video, they are not interested. Their attention span is about 2 minutes. After that, it’s on to the next website. I see them in restaurants, groups of them, ALL STARING INTO THEIR PHONES LIKE GOOD LITTLE ZOMBIES. Not talking to each other or having any meaningful repartee, except via TEXT MESSAGE, which is chock full of misspelled words, acronyms and internet shorthand that is as meaningless as an intercepted Enigma message before the code was cracked....................

All true, but it doesn't stop these social media and iphone addicts from thinking themselves morally and intellectually superior to people who are a couple of decades older. After all, as good "progressives," they're the foot soldiers for trendy causes like transgender bathrooms and gender-neutral language like "Latinx", unlike us troglodytes \s

61 posted on 12/26/2018 10:48:27 AM PST by ek_hornbeck
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To: SamAdams76; MeganC

How disappointing! “The Sweet Season”, chronicling St. John’s (the “Johnnies”) football and John Gagliardi - the winningest coach in college football history - was a great book. One that I’ve recommended many times.
No longer.
After the gratuitous and totally unnecessary dig at Trump (Trump makes Bush look Churchillian), pound sand Mr. Murphy.


62 posted on 12/26/2018 10:51:12 AM PST by spankalib
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To: Incorrigible

Actually, it was a very good article. He and his well-employed attorney wife wanted to refinance their house, so that’s why he needed more income (it was obviously not a modest little house, but in CA, such things probably do not exist). So this was voluntary, not survival.

But his job had gone away: “I haven’t come down in the world. What’s come down in the world is the business model that sustained Time Inc. for decades.” And that happens.

This man rose to the challenge, however, and I think he’s learning a lot about life outside of the media bubble. And he’s kinda happy! Good article.


63 posted on 12/26/2018 10:58:07 AM PST by livius
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To: Huskrrrr

Try and be a 65 year old roofer,


64 posted on 12/26/2018 11:03:32 AM PST by bobbys
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To: jyo19

I’m a 65 year old roofer, my dream was to write for SI but I put in my articals every time the red Sox and Patriots are pawns of satan.


65 posted on 12/26/2018 11:06:57 AM PST by bobbys
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To: Incorrigible
This proved problematic when my wife and I decided to refinance our home. Although Gina, an attorney, earns plenty

Let's all pause for a moment and feel sorry for this man married to an attorney!

66 posted on 12/26/2018 11:08:15 AM PST by donna (McCain - Flake - Sinema - McSally: Billionaires own Arizona)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Laid off on a few occasions from the commercial facilities engineering field, I worked at the local Home Depot in the garden center. It's too bad the money sucks (started at part-time at $10/hr.) because I loved the job. After about 6 months, I was in the best shape I had been in since high school, walking on average about 6 miles per day, hefted somewhere in the order of 800 to 1000 bags of mulch per day through the Spring, chatting it up with customers and meeting hot moms.... oh, and got to drive an awesome forklift.

The sad part was the store manager walking around like some bigshot, giving out annual "raises" of .25 cents per hour. Seriously, you sweat and bleed for those suckers for a year, schedule changing weekly, freezing in the winter and soaked in sweat all summer and maybe the top 25% of employees are lucky to be rewarded with a 25 cent increase in their hourly rate. I got the highest increase one year when I got 29 cents/hr. Made it a whole lot easier to go back to facilities engineering (and a salary above and beyond the store manager's) when the time came for recess to end.

I met quite a few others whose experience and education far exceeded the job requirements at Home Depot. But that seemed to be the case. Most were laid off and looked at HD as a way to enjoy a little break without sitting at home and going stir crazy.

67 posted on 12/26/2018 11:10:42 AM PST by Hatteras
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To: Incorrigible

How about delivering 279 parcels in one day AND delivering the mail that accompanies it. That’s what I do. Christmas was brutal this year but it’s over and I can relax.


68 posted on 12/26/2018 11:14:00 AM PST by lucky american (Progressives are attac Iking our rights and y'all will sit there and take it.)
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To: Red Badger

Ok, ok...... I’ll choose you to reply to.

First, in retirement think long. Not necessarioly large, but long.

Then think career. Then for many think rut. Retirement must be thought of as living long, out of the “career” rut.

My advice is to not worry too much, don’t overthink. In the words of Mr Mcabre, something will turn up. and, if you pay attention, it can and will.

Working after retirement should be a certainty, not because you have to but because you want to. Work becomes something out of all you know about merely one or a small combination of all those things. You become the company. You become the seller of needed services or labor.

In the coming days of full employment, reliable providers of limited services will find outlets for application of specific knowledge and abilities.

Don’t continue to try to do what you always did. Do something different using the specific knowledge and abilities you have doing something you like. Start slow....... one day a week and you will be suprised to learn you might very well soon get tot hepoint you have more requests and more work than you want. Turning people down garners more work.

The problem with what I promote is that it will soon intefere with travel plans or fishing or golfing or such. That is the goal....... doing what you want on your terms, making a few bucks, living


69 posted on 12/26/2018 11:20:55 AM PST by bert ( (KE. N.P. N.C. +12) Invade Honduras. Provide a military government)
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To: Red Badger

Cool! My brother has a degree in history and volunteers on archeological digs. He works in mini-storage, analyzing sites for income potential.


70 posted on 12/26/2018 11:23:13 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The internet has driven the world mad.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

that is very cool


71 posted on 12/26/2018 11:28:07 AM PST by SteveH
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To: Incorrigible
Always interesting to see a member of the chattering class get a taste of life in the working class, but taking a job like this to qualify for a home loan is not quite the same thing as dragging your sick butt to it to keep your kid in medicine. And it certainly isn't a hero descending into the belly of any beast - I wonder if the guy is introspective enough to sense his own set of assumptions in his choice of that simile?

Likely not - it is an Atlantic piece after all and he didn't do it for free. Still, yes, it's good for him to widen his circle of acquaintance even if it's the literary equivalent of Jonah wading ankle-deep in some whale's stomach contents. It's a paying gig, bud. Welcome to the real world.

72 posted on 12/26/2018 11:34:44 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: MeganC

“It was a nice story right up until the gratuitous and needless dig at...”

...COURIERS? He can say whatever he wants, but us at the Big Two make good money and have good benefits and 30+ year careers. We have all the fun he’s in wonderment at (while snooting at it).

While many are pursuing fantasies in college, we are steadily employed and, via OT, can make six figures if we WANT to. Over many years I have seen all kinds of careerists end up here and STAY. But they are at the back of the line. No one on the ground floor level jumps ahead in this business. Put in that time. At 20 years I’m still unable to get certain vacations slots off because of the 30-35 year emps ahead of me.

I’m happy for the careerists to come and stay. As I will be for some of their kids coming up. There’s always real work available when the fantasies disintegrate.


73 posted on 12/26/2018 11:36:16 AM PST by avenir ("But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."--Paul to Titus)
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To: jyo19

Journalists are the center of the story. They take no responsibility but do steal all the credit.


74 posted on 12/26/2018 11:44:02 AM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: ConservativeDude
true! But read the piece...gotta make a real plan to deal with the call of nature! LOL

I like Mr Arthur’s plan in “The Girl who got Rattled” in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” which was

“don’t use all the bullets on the Injuns - make sure you save the last one for yourself”

75 posted on 12/26/2018 11:48:29 AM PST by atc23
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To: Incorrigible

Mr. Murphy, I find nothing menial about honest work.


76 posted on 12/26/2018 11:50:05 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

yeah, that alone caused me to stop reading his article.

I’ve worked in jobs with mostly minorities and frankly, I didn’t give a fig nor did I consider it ‘ healthy for me . It was just a fact of my employment.

Big, white liberal guilt.

Imagine the virtue signaling when he informs his pals how HE is the minority among minorities at work.

” Look at me! I work with brown people! Aren’t I special! ‘


77 posted on 12/26/2018 11:53:54 AM PST by warsaw44
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To: cherry

I left the nuclear power industry at 60 and entered the scuba industry - if you don’t like what you’re doing, do what you like doing.


78 posted on 12/26/2018 11:57:11 AM PST by atc23
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To: Responsibility2nd

As a retired person I drive for a wheelchair van company that specializes in transporting one person at a time in converted Toyota Sienna wheelchair van.

It’s a great retirement job, with layovers from time to time and meeting nice people who really appreciate what I’m doing.


79 posted on 12/26/2018 12:03:41 PM PST by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Oh, and the bathroom thing, I get bathrooms in some of the cleanest places on Earth, hospitals.


80 posted on 12/26/2018 12:05:27 PM PST by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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