And You Thought Your Job Was Unpleasant

If, like me, you don't consider your job to be Heaven, check out Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch. The show chronicles the truly horrific working conditions of Alaskan Crab fishermen (think: The Perfect Storm). Job benefits include a nearly 100% injury rate and the fear not that someone will die, but that the crew won't be able to retrieve the body. The show's theme song is Bon Jovi's Dead or Alive - and I don't think it's referring to the crab.

Of course, one of the reasons such employment is so popular is that only a few months of work is required to pay a year's worth of family living expenses. Sort of makes the complaints of professional athletes - who also only work part of the year - seem weak(er), though.

Despite regular comments from the fishermen that they "live for this stuff", I'm still humbled by the notion that my consumption of Gumbo and other seafood dishes is only made possible by the loss of human life. Although eating less crab would likely only hurt these fishermen's (or is it "fisherpeople's"?) livelihoods - defeating any intent to better their lives - after watching only one episode, I'm never going to be able to order crab again without saying a silent word of thanks. My job may not be Heaven, but at least it's not life-threatening.



Image courtesy of ktylerconk