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Rules of Engagement
Wages
When we see someone poor, it is easy to see their need. When we think of the richest people, we don’t really wonder what they need, or if they have any needs. If you have all the money you could ever want, what would you buy with it? Perhaps having too much money can be as burdensome as having too little. I would like to volunteer to find out how much the super-rich must suffer trying to decide between one super expensive car, house, or jet and another. I wonder if boredom would eventually set it, and make you tired of buying things. Would you want to start returning things for a refund just because you were bored?
I’ve been paid a lot for not doing much, and I’ve been paid next to nothing for working harder than I had ever worked. I’ve also done volunteer work which was more satisfying than either of those jobs.
When MCI shot a commercial here in the state, they budgeted way too much money. This is why I got a phone call a couple months after being an extra in their commercial. They somehow decided MCI was connected to the driving of the Golden Spike in Northern Utah, since the point of the commercial was the telegraph operator sent the information to the rest of the world. I was just leaning on the telegraph pole, and they recruited me to be another telegraph pole guy. When they finished the commercial and had the extra money, the redistribution began. I got a call asking if I was the telegraph guy, and I clarified I was the one with the mustache. After already being paid two hundred dollars for a couple of days of work, the guy on the phone said I was being “bumped up” to being a featured extra, and would I please sign the contract being mailed to me? I said sure, and he said he would then send me a check for three thousand dollars. There was a significant pause as I tried to wrap my mind around what he was trying to tell me. Want some money? Sign the paper and send it back. I mumbled I would be glad to take the money.
That worked out to over a hundred dollars an hour or more no matter how you calculate it. Should I divide by the hours I was asleep, too? Or should I just count the actual hours. That makes it almost five hundred an hour. How come I can’t get a full-time job that pays like that? Maybe some of you are making that much or more an hour. It boggles my mind.
The worst I’ve been paid was working for the father of friend. He was a crafty old codger, not really specifying how much I would be paid to heft sheetrock and hold it against the ceiling. He was even too cheap to rent a great little tool which helps lift and hold sheetrock up against the ceiling. If you have never held those heavy sheets of paper-covered chalk, it is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
When all was said and done, I worked for a couple of weeks for about a dollar an hour. Minimum wage at the time was about three dollars, but what can you do when your friend’s dad cheats you out of all that time and effort? You can count it up to experience and write about it later.
But I think I may even like volunteering more than being paid a pittance. I’ve done enough acting for the terrible wages most actors get, and I’ve also done a lot of acting which I call volunteer work since I’m not being paid and I’m just donating my time for the good of the organization. I can even write off much of this at a much higher hourly rate on my taxes. I’ve been in live stage productions where I’ve actually been ashamed of being paid since the show, the script, or something else was not up to par. In those times, I’ve even wished it was donated time, since then there might be an excuse for the problems.
During those times I’ve acted for free, I really have enjoyed more of the performances than when I’ve been paid. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be turning down compensation, small as it may be. I just won’t be as happy about it. It doesn’t make any sense.
But you’ve probably had the same experience with your volunteer work. Nothing is so satisfying as doing something good, and not expecting a return. It may be more valuable than anything else we do. Think of it this way. If you could have all the money in the world, or all the blessings in the world, which would you choose?
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