Workplace Safety

"The most important thing is to show up," they offer as advice for the timid. Ok, says me, I can do that at least. I can get there. Great! I made it, now what, advice man? “Safety first, safety last, and work hard in between,” they say. Ok, says me, I can do that. But what exactly do I do to be safe?
This is New York City. This is a jungle-gym of speeding cars and narrow misses, of high rises and dive bars. It’s a city of dangerous men and even more dangerous girls. It’s a place where 10 bucks will get you two slices of pizza and a coke, so you better have a hustle. Fouls on the court are called by whoever can cuss cooler, whoever can throw the ball and yell, “You don’t know me son!” The subways screech, the horns honk, the subwoofers set off car alarms, and I sleep on a plastic air mattress. What did you say about being safe?
On the job site, there are sharp things like saws and knives and nails and screws and metal edges. There are hot things like any metal that experiences friction. There are a lot of things that are moving, like tools, and people. Some things are heavy, like sheetrock or bags of trash.
Outside, thirteen floors below, the street teems. The jobsite is quiet and cool and feels like a haven. However, with a moment’s distraction, suddenly you have a utility knife blade embedded in your thigh. And it hurts. And it’s expensive. And you can’t work.
“What’s your hustle?” Freddy asks. He wants to know what my interests are, what my passion is, how I can see myself working, and thus making a dollar, in this beehive. In Cuba, life seems healthier, happier, because even though everyone is poor, no one feels wronged because there is no one waving wealth in their face. They don’t feel the inequality. But here, Rafael, Jorge, y Freddy commute in from Brooklyn or down from Washington Heights to lay marble and mahogany on Madison Ave. These guys better wear safety glasses, lift with their knees, and mind their fingers around those saws, because their hustle depends on that body functioning every day.
Hustle on. Wear safety glasses and gloves. Cut away from your body. Be circumspect. Play on playa.