Sunday, January 25, 1998

Year-long labor shows value of 'ordinary' jobs

Today's Sunday Life feature on rock 'n' roller Doug Roysden concludes a year-long Reporter-News project to chronicle a "Day in the Life" of a handful of hard-working Joes and Janes.

Over the past year, our reporters and photographers have waded through the sludge with a dairy farmer, witnessed nurses assist in delivering a baby, ridden shotgun on an ice cream truck and admired a dance instructor's gentle grace.

In each instance, we learned that in the giving of the precious gift of our labor, we all in some small way impact the quality of life in Abilene and the Big Country.

By churning out fluffy, delicious doughnuts, Carolyn Zabbia helps her customers start the day on a sweet note.

Mortician Robert Parker comforts people in times of personal loss and sadness.

Homemaker Karen Light is raising five healthy, happy, well-adjusted children who will soon be contributing members of the community.

And Roysden entertains folks who patronize the clubs he plays or listen to the records he produces.

The subtle, overall lesson of our series is that dignity and honor characterize virtually every line of work. Blue-collar laborers and white-collar professionals alike are vital to what we have and enjoy by living in the Big Country. In their own individual ways, everyone contributes. And the rich and varied forms of those "ordinary" contributions are what we have sought to reveal by focusing on the efforts that together make up a day in the life of the local community.