Posted on: Thursday, April 8, 2004

THE COLOR OF MONEY
A good job isn't always about the money

By Michelle Singletary

WASHINGTON — During her entire working life, my grandmother had low-wage jobs. But Big Mama was most proud of the job she held until she retired. She worked at a hospital in Baltimore for 25 years as a nursing assistant.

My grandmother's responsibilities included emptying bedpans, changing sheets and transporting patients to various places in the hospital for treatments.

I made the mistake once of asking if she ever wished she had a "better" job.

"What's wrong with what I do?" Big Mama asked, more mad than hurt. "Girl, there is nothing wrong with good, honest work. Emptying bedpans puts food on our table and that makes it a good job."

I remembered this conversation while I was reading this month's Color of Money Book Club selection. It's one that doesn't have a single tip on how to prepare a budget, invest in the stock market or reduce your credit card debt.

I've chosen "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom (Hyperion, $19.95). Albom, a columnist for The Detroit Free Press, also wrote the best-selling "Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson."

"The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a novel about the life and death of 83-year-old Eddie, the chief maintenance man at the fictitious Ruby Point Amusement Park. The book begins with Eddie dying while attempting to shove a little girl out of the way of a falling carnival ride.

Eddie is a wounded war veteran who had regretted every day he worked at the seaside amusement park fixing and maintaining the rides. After his death, Eddie is met by five people. All try to persuade him that as he lived he had an impact on others.

This book isn't just about one man's vision of heaven. It's about appreciating life on earth. This book has a financial message. There are many who would identify with Eddie and how he felt trapped in a meaningless job.

I find it interesting that Albom has been criticized for writing a saccharin tale of life after death. David Brooks of The New York Times said the book was a "sad experience because it conjures up a mass of people who, like its hero, feel lonely and unimportant."

Brooks misses the point. "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" helped me appreciate what my grandmother did for a living.

It made me think of all the parents who are stressing their children out by pushing them to choose high-paying jobs.

For example, what is the first thing someone says if a kid says he or she wants to be a teacher?

"Why do you want to be a teacher? You know teachers don't make any money."

That's appalling and really sad.

I consider teachers a gift from God. There are times my kids get on my nerves so bad I want to scream (and I often do). Now imagine teaching other people's children. My sister-in-law gave up a higher paying job in information technology to teach inner-city children.

The people who inspired me the most were teachers. Why on earth would we want to discourage people from that fine line of work?

I know why. You know why. It's because we haven't learned what my grandmother tried to tell me.

Not everyone is going to be a doctor, lawyer, multimillion-dollar athlete or American Idol. Perhaps more of us should stop wishing we made more money at a different profession and appreciate what our jobs allow us to do for our families and other people.

I had considered selecting for the book club Robert T. Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money — That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!"

That was until I went to hear Kiyosaki deliver a speech to hundreds of people who had come to hear him divulge the secrets to becoming rich in real estate.

At one point Kiyosaki said anybody who aspires to work for someone else in a 9-to-5 job is a "loser."

To emphasize his point he held up his index finger and thumb to his forehead to form the letter "L."

Kiyosaki said people who go to school only so they can get a regular job, buy a house and put money in a 401(k) plan are losers.

You are not a loser or unimportant if you have an it-pays-the-bills job. If you read Albom's book, you may not have to wait to meet your five people in heaven to find that out.