Prompt #62

This week marks the 120th celebration of Labor Day in the United States. This day was originally founded to celebrate the contributions of American workers, but that origin has perhaps become a bit lost in recent decades. For many people, it offers a last hurrah at the beach; others see it as a cookout occasion; still others miss the celebrations entirely because they are, somewhat ironically, at work.

Here at NANO Fiction, we’d love to hear your stories about American labor–from the personalities and professions to the intricacies of various careers. What are the secret pockets of knowledge that your field considers mundane but that few outsiders know? (Think of a mortician, a garbage collector, an airplane pilot.) What happens on the job that you want to make sure no customers know about? How does labor define the characters in our stories? How does it allow us to forge new connections with unlikely people? What do the people at retail establishments you frequent know about you?

PROMPT:

Write a flash piece about the professions, professionals, and not-so professional folks that make up America’s workforce. We’re happy that it’s part of our job to read them.

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