To the Editor:

Boy, it’s hard to find things that are free these days! Everything costs something!

There’s the water bill! The sewer bill! There are all those costs associated with energy! Energy: you know, what gets you from A to Z. What gets you out of bed and into the car to drive to meetings. What gets you up in the morning or keeps you up late at night finishing your notes on your laptop or sending out the last of a long string of emails to those you want to make sure get those notes. That’s energy.

There are some in the world who have managed to make absolutely sure that they get paid for every ounce of energy they expend. No attending those meetings for nothing not if there’s any chance you can get the office to pick up the tab. No sir! No laboring over those meetings without a paycheck. No way.

After all, expending your energy without getting paid for it means you don’t get paid. Maybe the top brass in your organization will notice how much energy you put out and when there is some small crumb of acknowledgement, — you know, some small recognition, some special opportunity maybe to meet an important person who comes to town, or even an award for using up all that energy doing that work. Don’t you think the best person is the one who’s putting out all that energy even if they get paid a six-figure salary for doing it? Don’t you think that award goes to the one who expends that energy doing every single thing you tell them to?

You’ve got to wonder why anyone would ever volunteer, would ever ever bother doing it for free.

Susan Cook
Bath