Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Nick names

In my line of work there is a particular nick name that I've just grown to love. I've heard it at least twice a week for the last 7 years. It's funny, endearing and just so perfect.

What is the nick name?

Graybeards.


A graybeard is an wizened old engineer who has an astounding amount of experience and knowledge crammed into his brain. He's seen everything and he can give advise that no one else can. These people are honored. Their opinion is gold.

The entire aerospace industry is pretty awesome, but one of the really cool things is that these graybeards are still working. They birthed the industry and are still around.


For a society and culture that considers youth the pinnacle of living and tends to see little value in the elderly I feel proud to belong to a group who honors the knowledge gained by age. Who values the experience and insight garnered during a long life. Who realizes that the previous generation has a critically important voice.

That's all.

6 comments:

Gin said...

Since I work in the same industry, I totally agree. But it terrifies me that, with the end of the shuttle program, we may lose so much of that knowledge between layoffs and budget cuts and usual attrition. I love my job, but I worry that I will be sticking around to work for a program of lesser quality.

Anonymous said...

HAIL GANDALF!!!!

megs and josh said...

thats awesome! do they even call the women that?

Katie said...

There are no women in my industry that age...at least none I've ever met.

Becca said...

AMEN sister!

Anonymous said...

BE CAREFUL using the term GRAYBEARD at work. I once had to defend an EEOC claim for age discrimination because of the terms young employees were using towards older employees. It was not a fun experience for all involved.

HR Professional...