Independent Bog Selector at Dawn
As a member
of the Independent Bog Selectors’ Association of America I work outside the big
bog selector chains. This means that I
don’t wear an easily recognizable uniform.
Often I am challenged by people who want to know why I am poking around
in their bog. You’d think that my
clipboard and flashlight would be enough to clue them in. Suspicion is just part of the job. I’ve gotten used to it, tiresome as it is.
Some
people, however, are intrigued by the idea of working as a self-employed bog
selector. I find them just as tiresome
really, because they want to waste even more of my time asking me questions. They want to know all about the work, the
hours, the remuneration, the protections afforded by the Association. I am usually polite with them, but I keep
working. I like to be out of the bog
and back on the road before dawn. Not
only is it difficult to judge a bog properly and fairly during the heat of the
day, it’s damned oppressive. I’ve seen
large prehistoric mammals overcome by the heated vapors rising from a deep
black bog under the rays of the sun.
Obviously
this limits the number of bogs I can inspect and recommend for selection, but,
as I am also a licensed mammoth and mastodon fur collator, I am able to put the
daylight hours to good use as well. My
wife doesn’t like my being gone for weeks at a time, but she enjoys the
benefits of being a member of the Independent Bog Selectors’ Association Ladies
Auxiliary. It keeps her busy.
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