My government job taught me some amazing lessons. I wish Kamala Harris had learned them at McDonald’s

Vice President Kamala Harris says she worked at McDonald’s when she was young, but that job is missing from her early studies and memory. I feel sorry for him as I have also left to start my new summer job as a freelancer for the Virginia Department of Highways. But that job taught me more about the nature of government than any high school or college class I ever took.

As a 16 year old flag man, I stopped traffic while highway crews were off duty for hours. I did “roadkill riealongs” with Bud, a lovable truck driver, who always chewed the cheapest, worst “ceegar” ever made – Swisher Sweets. The cigarettes I smoked cost a nickel more than Bud’s, but I tried not to get wind of him.

We had to dig a hole to bury any dead animal by the side of the road. This may take half an hour or more. Bud’s method was more effective. We would put our shovels firmly under the animal—waiting until no cars passed by—and throw the body into the bushes. It was important not to let work eat up the available time to smoke.

CNN DATA GURU SAYS HARRIS CAME OUT AGAINST THE ‘EXPERIENCE LINES’ FROM YOUNG PEOPLE WHO VOTED THROUGH TAYLOR SWIFT ENDORSEMENT.

I was assigned to work on a crew of what may have been a lot of squatters south of the Potomac and east of the Mississippi. Working slowly according to slippery conditions was their way of honor. Anyone who worked harder than that was seen as a nuisance, if not a threat.

Vice President Kamala Harris said she worked at McDonald’s early in her career, though it doesn’t appear on her resume. (AP/Stephen B. Morton)

The most important thing that I learned from that group was not to be rude. Every bonehead can grunt and lift goods from Point A to Point B. It takes practice and skill to turn a chore like a mule into an art.

In order not to pull to the right, the handle of the shovel should rest on top of the belt while the other leans slightly forward. It is important not to put both hands in your pockets while leaning, as that can prevent onlookers from recognizing the “work in progress.”

The important thing is to appear to read strongly where your next effort will provide the most rewards for the job. One should give an impression of the sharp eyes that the falcon displays before swooping down on its prey.

One of the tasks of these workers this summer was to build a new road. The deputy foreman was angry: “Why is the national government asking us to do this? Private businesses can build the road more efficiently, and at a lower price.” I was surprised by his explanation, but by the end of the summer I wholeheartedly agreed.

The highway department couldn’t organize anything better than painting stripes in the middle of the road. Even the placement of highway signs was ineffective. The more highway officials were involved in the decision making, the more certain the final results would be. It seems that the management planned against the intelligence of every worker.

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There was one exception to the highway work. From 4:30 pm onwards each working day, the teams would return to headquarters and start The Big Fret. The staff gathered in the living room (with no clock on the wall) to stand in silence, almost in silence. Then – at one point – one of the veterans decided it was 5pm and they all jumped as if they were running away from a ship hitting an iceberg.

Although I easily got used to this laziness, on Friday evenings I was busy unloading trucks full of boxes of old books at the library. The game paid a flat rate, in cash, that often worked out to double or triple the salary of the highway department.

The most important thing that I learned from that group was not to be rude. Every bonehead can grunt and lift goods from Point A to Point B. It takes practice and skill to turn a chore like a mule into an art.

The highway department’s goal was to conserve energy, while the bookkeeping agency’s goal was to save time – to finish as quickly as possible and get on with your life. With government work, time often acquired a negative value – something to be killed. I realized early on that the time to kill was a crime against life itself.

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All of Harris’s work experience or almost that of government – either forcing people to obey certain laws (as a prosecutor) or creating new laws that they will be forced to obey (as a senator). Perhaps Harris has never experienced chronic government inaction.

Has Harris learned anything besides the love of power? That occupational hazard was absent that summer with the Virginia Department of Highways. But Harris has had plenty of experience over the decades raising boondoggles out of the bushes.