As library staff worked from home, a call went out for 1-2 people to work 9-5 and cover a time gap for our online chat service. My sleep was already crappy making my 7:30-3:30 shift not a good fit for working from from home. I volunteered for the sake of my mental health. I immediately went to Spotify, searched out the classic Dolly Parton song, and played in during my first shift while working on something:
From the opening using a ‘typewriter’ as a musical instrument (actually Parton’s nails), to the lyrics, even used as poetry in a recent episode of ‘The Orville,’ the song has staying power forty years after its release. Unlike the boss of this song, mine respects the staff and their contributions. A friend of mine left a job after 10 years of watching newer, inexperienced men get promoted before her. (In fact, she got something even better.) Stories like this do not surprise me anymore. The same people saying ‘stand up for yourself’ will often call you ‘moody,’ difficult,’ but never ‘bitch.’ (Canadians will never be dumb enough to call a woman that word in front of reporters. They do it privately after ‘agreeing to disagree.’)
The song also contains the a kernel advice after cataloging the ways people, especially women, are used the workplace it’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it. Easier said than done. Parton doesn’t advocate passivity, sometimes you can’t let it drive it you crazy. The energy spent driving yourself crazy can better spent driving those dreams forward and putting out a hand for the ones behind you.
Unpaused Life 
I saw the film again not that long ago (? maybe a year or two?) after not having seen it since the 80s. Some things have changed but the bigger underlying themes have not: it’s still worth seeing. That song was SO huge when it came out. I can still sing it by heart.
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“Putting out a hand for the ones behind you” that’s really it isn’t it?!!
Hope you are doing as well as you can
Great posts under your new name !! 😘❤️
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