Like – “You know”

I suppose that I am just a mite old fashioned, but I find it harder and harder to converse with the youth of today. I was seated beside a young man at a dinner party recently, and I made an attempt to ask if he was employed. His answer was (I think), “Well, yeah, like, you know, I boogied down to the Quick-Check; and I go ‘hey man, do you need somebody to clean this joint up?’ and he goes, you know, like, ‘cool.’ So I, you know, sucked up to the old geezer, and like, you know, here I am.”

I desperately tried to remember what he said in order to question my sons as to his answer. Was it yes or no? I am reasonably certain that he was not taught that this was the correct procedure for a job interview, but then, I have been told that I am out of touch with the real world; therefore, how would I know?

It has not been so long ago that a job interview involved “putting your best foot forward.” Neatly dressed, shoes shined, hair combed and most importantly, presenting yourself as attentive, polite and enthusiastic. Perhaps the lack of this line of reasoning has contributed to the rise in unemployment.

A visit to any video arcade during a workday can attest to the fact that many young people favor entertainment in lieu of working. Dozens of young people are present on a daily basis, so engrossed in the operation of some video game that they were apparently oblivious of the help-wanted signs in the adjacent shops. I well remember when the mere mention of an opening for a job could prompt long lines of prospective applicants.

This brings up the subject of where do they get the money that they evidently have in abundance? I realize that some work different shifts and this would be considered their “down time,” but there are a few who are present morning, noon and night, with no visible means of support for their addiction to a “video-fix.”

The point in all this rambling is simply that I do not understand youth. In another time, youngsters were expected, no, required to earn at least part of their subsistence. Allowances were not feasible for a family who needed all of the income that they could get for survival. Also, I am not aware of any permanent scars on anyone who was required to help with this income.

Getting back to the interview of yesteryear, you dressed neatly, talked intelligently, convinced them of your willingness to work hard and ONLY when you had secured the job did you “suck up to the boss”….

Like, you know, “Hey man, I need more bread.”

Demijon