Marcel Pelgrom consults on analog IC design.

Opinion

The shop assistant

Reading time: 3 minutes

We stopped teaching our children that not everything in life is fun – and that’s a big problem, argues a grumpy old engineer.

Peter is the shop assistant in my local grocery store and over time, we’ve built up some sort of relation. Although he’s certainly smart, he moves slowly, like a turtle. Even the shop manager mocks him: “One day, you’ll be late for your own funeral.” As you might expect, Peter is an easygoing and relaxed person. He works at the store to have some money for his weekend parties and his hobby, water skiing. I should mention that his parents are doing really well.

Peter finished high school just before the pandemic, but he never told me whether he graduated or just left. He did tell me, however, that he forgot to return his school books and was confronted with a bill of over 1,000 euros. I recommended raising an objection and asking his former school to help out. A few weeks later, when I inquired what happened, it turned out he just paid the bill.

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