REAL WORK

I'm pretty sure treadmills, rowing machines, and Nautilus equipment didn't exist 200 years ago. They didn't need to; people got plenty of exercise in their existing daily routine of farming the land, washing clothes, and walking everywhere. Nowadays, most of America is tethered to a desk, a monitor, and a mouse for 8, 9, 10 hours a day. Then we drive to the gym, where we can walk without going anywhere and lift heavy objects.

I don't know that I would've survived 200 years ago. This week, I've spent about 15-20 hours doing manual labor. It's been mostly painting, with a little moving a friend out of his house. And I am physically beat. I'm so sore the muscles in my fingers are sore. This evening, as my friend and I were moving his washer out of his basement, I nearly dropped the thing on top of him. That's called bonking. And that's less than half a work week for your typical manual laborer.

In three centuries, our country has gone from agriculture to industrial to technological. And in three days, I've gone to aches and pains, and to a new appreciation for those who do manual labor for a living.