A Neat Job

I have a problem with scale. Not with the size of the world itself, really, but with the number of people who live and the number of things which occur upon it. I probably see a few hundred people a day between home and work, and I tend not to think much beyond them. I see lawyers and secretaries and store clerks and bus drivers and stuff, and unless I stop to actually think about it, I ignore or forget that there are people actually doing interesting, or at least different things with their lives.

The downside of my narrow vision is that I'm missing out on most of the great big world. The only upside? Whenever I hear about some neat thing someone does with their time, I'm rather excited by it. For example, take ex-outfielder Darryl Hamilton. He works in the Commissioner's office, doing something that I've never really thought about:

Hamilton, an outfielder who played for five major league teams, including the Mets, is baseball’s senior specialist for on-field operations. Part of his job is fairly traditional and requires reviewing on-field brawls and doling out fines and suspensions to players, coaches, managers and even umpires.

The other part is a little unusual. It requires him to scrutinize the advertisements and other signage that dot outfield walls and the stands in baseball’s 30 stadiums to ensure that they do not hamper the ability of players and umpires to track the ball. It is one of those jobs that, done correctly, goes unnoticed.

I'm tempted to ask about what else in this great big world goes unnoticed, but any answer would negate the premise of the question.