What's (Who's) Essential
Boy, one sure did hear that word quite a bit not too long ago, a word that was applied not to necessary items (such as what to take on a space flight or a long trip) but to people, as if during the various phases of the pandemic lockdown we didn't have enough to think about. Sort of like work (or the changing face of work). Any long-term job (or even just the routines of home) tends to make people feel as if they are doing something few others can do as if they have somehow gained a bit of intimate knowledge of something; each of us knows what pleases or irritates our spouse or child, or where your sprinklers are when mowing, or just how and when to solve a complicated situation...that sort of thing. But as any office worker (or executive) knows, no one is irreplaceable. It was by chance that a friend dashed off an earlier book by Michael Lewis titled The Fifth Risk . And at first I doubted that I would read it...