Yeah, my job as a Park Ranger for two years from 1998-2000 was pretty neat. I was sick at the time of course but it didn’t bother me at work.It was the highest position I’ve held in 28 years of working. When I think of all my other jobs I’ve had, I don’t label them menial if I’m reminiscing. Technically they ARE, but I don’t think of them as that in my mind. To me they were just:“jobs”, first and foremost.
I had quit my job at Sears in 1997 after 4 years; it was a VERY physical job, lots of lifting, and bending over. My psyche doc had told me (erroneously I later thought) that since I quit for medical reasons that I shouldn’t work for a year in order to get disability. Not SSDI or SSI, but some other work benefits. So I joined a day program. I was living on my own and had a car so I drove myself each morning. It was mainly groups with a little therapy going on and a lunch. At the end of the year a women counselor approached me with an ad she had clipped from a local newspaper. A private company was looking for a Park Ranger. I had my doubts about becoming a Park Ranger. I had no experience and I didn’t know what it involved. But the counselor thought i could do it so I applied-and I got hired. Basically the company had contracts with the city to work in various parks around the south Bay Area of San Francisco. I got a uniform, a company truck to patrol around in, and a walki-talki to keep in touch with the office and to be able to call the police or fire department if I got in trouble.
It seemed pretty neat. Two of the parks I needed to use the truck.The other ones I drove to them and patrolled on foot all day. The day to day routine was not glamorous. I had to empty garbage cans, and pick up trash and litter and clean-restrooms. I had to fill out an hourly report listing any incidents.It was my job to make sure there were no alcoholic beverages in the parks . They also trained me to fight fires; our truck had a 50 gallon tank of water in the bed which I only used once to douse a grill fire left burning by picnickers after dark. It was a little exciting. But I drove around for miles and people treated me with respect. I had a set of keys that opened every lock on every gate in every park for a 15 mile radius. I had a lot of responsibility actually. If someone got hurt on park property it was up to me to help them but the first thing to do would be to call the paramedics. Luckily in two years it was only a couple kids falling down and scraping their knees. But when I checked park goers for alcohol there was always that tension to see if they would comply or start trouble. But like I said most people respected my authority. I had various incidents happen but it was mostly routine. Though one time I saved a dogs life by pulling it from the wetlands off a platform it had dived off of. I jumped in and pulled him out, I was pretty proud of that. Anyway, I had a lot of contact with people can I was stationed in crowded, busy parks. I can see why people on here go for the high status jobs sometimes. It was fun having such a job and lots of responsibility.
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Nick, you have lived a very interesting life. Keeping parks safe is no easy task. The more people retreat to the park, the more important that job becomes.
I love working in the parks.
I don’t consider my job to high status, but I do consider it important.