Gravedigger
WHEN STUDS TERKEL'S classic book "Working" was first published in 1974, it gave voice to the rich stories about jobs and the people who were doing them. As Terkel, who died last October at age 96, so poignantly revealed, work for most was a search not just for daily bread but also for meaning.
"To be remembered," Terkel wrote, "was the wish, spoken and unspoken, of the heroes and heroines" of the book.
Thirty-five years later, as the country faces the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, it's worth remembering the people who still make the country tick.
Thanks to Terkel, we were able to hear "the extraordinary dreams of ordinary people."
Below is an excerpt from a new graphic edition of "Working," adapted by Harvey Pekar and edited by Paul Buhle - and published today, May Day. It is a visual adaptation of Terkel's verbatim interviews.
Elmer Ruiz, the gravedigger, says "a gravedigger is a very important person." So are all workers. 