The Food Chain of Life

Am I the only one that thinks about this?
It saddens me and breaks my heart to see this reality.

The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

It takes all kinds of people to make this world work.
Some are at the top, some are in the middle and some are at
or nearer to the bottom of the food chain of life.
Regardless of what position one holds on that chain,
everyone is important and vital to our everyday lives.
Even if it's in just a small way.

Ever wonder how the ones at the top got there and stay there?
Perhaps, they were born with silver spoons in their mouths.
Maybe they were lucky enough to have access to a good education.
Maybe some of them worked their asses off to get there.
Some probably have stepped on alot of people just to get there.
I'm sure some of them have even lied and cheated their way to the top,
and some, could very well have used their talents to get there.

Regardless of how they got there, they are there.
Sadly though, It's the people below them on that chain that keep
them there. It's too bad, that not too many of them, that
have made it to the top, realize that fact.
I often wonder, if being at the top is "the" place to be.

It seems to me, that once someone gets to the top,
it's as if they have earned the right both legally and morally,
to be arrogant, selfish, mean, and oblivious to what's going on
in the rest of the world. The REAL world not theirs.

They never think about the fact that others below them on the food chain,
work just as hard if not harder, to make this world go around.
Some of which, provide the very means and the bull work that keeps
these people at the top.
In fact, everyday, the people at the top, come in contact with the people
from the middle and from the bottom of that very same chain.
Unfortunately, very little thought goes into the fact that most of the people
in the middle and near the bottom of the chain struggle daily.
Some, closer to the bottom, are and can be poverty stricken, broke
depressed, and even suicidal.
Most live paycheck to paycheck. Busting their butts off,
trying to cope and make ends meet.
They are the ones that are suffering. They should and have
earned the right to wear the frown and have bad attitudes.

I'm not talking about the people that are on welfare or the
homeless or the druggies.

That's a whole different ballgame.

I'm talking about the people that most of us take for granted
on a daily basis. The people that walk our children across the road,
so that they don't get hit by cars, or the ones that make sure
your children get back and forth to school safely everyday.
I'm talking about the clerk or cashier that helps you find and buy
the stuff that you so desperately want or need.
Or the ones that serve you your nice, hot, expensive meals.

Don't forget the people that make sure that you don't wait
in that line-up at Timmy's too long for that perfect cup of coffee
that is made just the way you like it.
It could be the person that puts your favorite ingredients
on that sub that you may eat for lunch today.
Tonight you may be going to a party or a bar and because
of the drinking and driving laws, you may need someone to get
you from one place to another. How about you call a taxi.

Perhaps, it's the person that will be pumping your gas
in the next snow storm, or the person that delivers your goods
or merchandise to your customers or your the one that brings
your newspaper right to your door.

Maybe it's your neighbor, maybe it's your mother.
Maybe it's no one you know. Whom ever it is, rest assured,
it is someone.
It is real, it is unfair, it is sad and it is running ramped among all of us.

There are people out there, trying to make a living.
Physically, working their butts off to make sure that you get
what you want and need. They make minimal wages.
Some of them have next to nothing in their fridges.
They eat peanut butter sandwiches, no brand Kraft Dinner and
their " barbecued steaks" are really fried bologna in disguise.

Their children will never be in soccer in the summer
or hockey in the winter. Most don't have a pension plan,
a savings account, life insurance, a house to call their own
or a car to drive. Some days they can't find enough change
to ride the bus to work.
Some can't even afford medical attention or prescriptions,
and very few see a dentist regularly.
Some are forced to pay for uniforms that they can't afford
but are required of them to wear in order to work,
and there are a few that have to make tough decisions
between providing groceries for their families, or paying their utility bill.
Some won't have a Christmas tree this year let alone presents
or a good meal. While others sleep on mattresses, with the dream,
that someday they will be able to afford a real bed.

Some can't afford a winter jacket others it may be boots.
Getting a better job is out of the question for some of them,
because that would require an education, which by the way,
is highly over-rated and extremely expensive.

These people are vital to the food chain of life.
They work just as hard if not harder than the rest of the world.
They are used, abused, ignored, overworked, under-paid and
literally looked down upon, yet if we think about it,
society couldn't possibly function without them.

If you look around with your eyes truly open, you can distinguish
between the people at the top, middle and bottom of the food chain of life.

The ones at the top are usually cranky, disrespectful and appear unhappy.
They seem like they don't like people, rules or conversation.
They are always right, know everything that there is to know
and God forbid anyone would challenge them.
They never say thank-you, excuse me or Hello.
Apparently they are above all that nonsense.
They walk around with frowns and love to point their fingers.
They are quick to judge and inform others of their imperfections
and misgivings. Most wouldn't crack a smile if you offered them
a thousand bucks.

Could it be that all their money and material belongings
couldn't and can't buy them happiness?

The people in the middle cover a wide range,
however most just appear to be very busy yet somewhat
frustrated. Life is completely passing them by.
They work too much, trying to keep up with the Jones.
They rarely have time for family and friends, and complain
about almost everything and everybody.
They don't know or care what day it is, all they know is
that it's the same shit, just a different day. Is it Friday yet?
The middle people, clearly are still trying to work their way to the top,
unfortunately time for them, is running out.

Most of them are, simply put, climbing a slippery pole.
Stuck somewhere in the middle of somewhere.
2 steps forward 3 steps back.


The people near the bottom of the chain,
are cheerful, honest, hard-working and dedicated.
Their proud of what they do and don't complain about too much.
They can talk to anyone and are at peace with their own lives.
They usually have hidden talents and don't know how to use them
or are unable to catch a break. Both minor and major catastrophes
happen to these people regularly, but they usually make their way
through them in a quiet dignified manner.
They are full of energy, appear happy and are pleasant to be around.
Most are grateful for what they have and it's a given,
that anyone of these people would give the shirt off their backs,
if someone came along that needed one.
They'll also be the first one to give you a quarter for a grocery cart,
telephone call or that car meter as you run into the store to purchase
something. They are the people that hold the door open for you as you
walk by and ignore and don't acknowledge them. These same people
will also let you get in front of them in a line up because they can see
the tension and frustration in your body language and eyes.
You'd never know or suspect, that one of these good-natured,
over-worked, under-paid smiling faces, could actually be
in a state of poverty, misery, or pain.

Unless of coarse, you stopped and just thought about it for a moment.



Think about this: Cashier/clerk = $11 per hour
compared to Lawyer $150 per hour
Taxi/school/city bus Driver = $14 per hour
compared to City works employee $28 per hour
Waitress = $10 per hour
compared to business owner $100 per hour
Single mother/father = $0
compared to a Teacher or home care worker $50 per hour
Sales associate = $12 per hour
compared to nurse $60 per hour.
Female Worker = $16 per hour
compared to Male Worker $23 per hour
Fitness instructor = $18 per hour
compared to Pro hockey player $1500 per hour



Picture this:

A single parent, trying to stay off of welfare, working at a minimum wage job (approximately $1500 per month) trying to survive without suffering in some way. She is important to you. She places your breakfast or lunch order every other day. You joke with her, have conversations, and she fills your coffee cup over and over again when it is empty. She smiles and asks how you are, just because your her customer. She's very happy, friendly and never complains. When your eggs aren't cooked enough, she brings your plate back to the cook and has them done up just right. She is a super nice person. Good at what she does and a true asset to that business.

Guess what.

She is poverty stricken. She can't afford to get a much needed winter coat this year. She does not have enough money to buy groceries this month either and regardless of how she got herself into this position in the food chain of life, facts are facts. She is there. right near the bottom. If it's not this girl it would be a different one. Some have to be at the bottom and some have to be at the top.

Did you know that the average person pays $750 per month for an apartment. Some pay $75 per month for utilities, $45 per month to have a phone and sometimes over $300 per month to a babysitter so that they can work for a living. They don't own cars and most take the bus to and from work or where ever else they have to go, which costs them about $100 per month. Some are on medication that costs anywhere between $50-75 a month and their entertainment is the television at $60 per month. Quite a few of them have student loans from trying to get an education, which by the way is good interest but still ends up as a monthly expense of anywhere from $25-150 per month. Some helpful sole somewhere along their paths, gave them a visa which now has a monthly payment of $75.

If you can do the math, you'll see that just the necessities in their lives puts them around $1500 bucks a month. Don't dare look in their fridges or their cupboards, as there won't be much to see.

It truly sickens me the way things work in this world. I hate what's happening out there. Why isn't something done to help the poor struggling bottom part of the food chain of life. Why not take that 30 million weekly lottery money and hand over $30,000 each to the people that are at the bottom pulling their weight in society, yet are pulling in less than $20,000 per year. There's alot of them out there. To cover the slack and make sure that everyone is taken care of, why not make all those guys at the top, sitting on their millions, waiting to take it with them, or pass more free money to their already silver spoon fed offspring,
help out, to even out this chain a little.

Where are you in the food chain of life. I'm somewhere between the middle and the bottom. A place where I can see all angles. I like where I am, but I wish that I could help out others, more than I do. What do you do to help?

The next time you come across one of the people that make up the bottom parts of the food chain of life, I hope that you at least acknowledge the fact that they are important and that through those smiles and genuine gestures of good service, dedication and devotion, lies a person that can barely make ends meet.