Journal 6 - Bridgetender - Alia Eddauod

Barbara AbelHauser is a bridgetender which means she is in control of the Ortega River Bridge. Barbara always thought bridge tending would be a Zen kind of job. She always had a fascination with it. She was miserable waking up dreading going to work for 14 years as a government employee, and finally one morning she woke up thinking life was too short. What Barbara had thought was just a break she was taking from corporate society jobs, turned into her loving bridge tending so much despite the horrible pay and how the benefits are worse. She stuck to it and prefers being happier. One event which I feel of importance in the Bridgetender's profile, is how Barbara describes the size of the small bridgetender house. Most people would not want to work in such a small space, where you cannot even stretch your arms and can only sit and operate. however, Barbara wonders about the first person who operated in the booth, and who the first woman was. There was always someone sitting in the bridge tender room ever since 1927 when the bridge was built, and she is curious about the history. Most people would also not want to run through pouring rain or in any bad weather, plus must cross the street just to use the restroom. Barbara looks at the bright side and thinks it is fun also the fact that she has a better view because of the windows, and how executives in corporate society making more money compared to her, don’t share the same view ..

 

Another event in this profile is bad things can still happen, Barbara says the boys do some sort of recruitment where you have to egg the tender house at least once and it scares people who weren’t expecting it. The way Barbara describes her job being is never boring, she lets it known that the bridge is a part of their life too, that it is a place for the whole community, from people walking their dogs, going on dates, to people who jog, and even the animals. She sees different people who act and respond differently, Barbara stops to smell the roses, unlike the impatient people she sees. When her boyfriend states how she must see things that the rest of us miss she follows up with this passage

 I see the passage of the seasons. I see the alligator that hangs out below my window in the summer, and when she lays her eggs and they hatch, I hear the barking of the baby Gators .There’s manatees and the Dolphins that come by .There's a night heron that's it's just below my window all night long every night, except when the algae bloom and the sunsets and sunrises are like snowflakes----there is no two that are exactly alike . (19)

 This is a huge reason why I chose this piece. I love how she describes nature. Barbara states how she loves her job, she is getting paid to stop and look. “I know it's the same manatee that comes back every year, because I know his scars. I have this love-hate relationship with a Crow that likes to attack me as I'm walking off the bridge, and I talk to him "( 20).

In Our culture, you see many workers are stressed out and, in a hurry, and still, Barbara finds a way to have a good attitude. she is mindful of her surroundings and others around her, the passerby's who don't notice her. A lot of people who have corporate jobs that just pay you do not get any satisfaction out of it. I like how Barbara was able to find her dream job and find a balance between enjoying life and hard work ethics. she is always alert and takes her job seriously and hates the misconception that she is asleep. Every time I go back to Wisconsin,  (where this photo attached is taken) I will look at the bridge differently and also wonder who is in there because of Barbara's story.

Hiding in plain sight.