In this morning’s paper there is an article about Studs Terkel. Today is his 95th birthday. I first ran into the writing of Studs Terkel in his book Working which is a collection of interviews he did with people about their work. I read it during my college years and was even more delighted when his book was turned into a musical. The book featured people from every walk of life….the teacher, the construction worker,the cook,even the young paperboy who loved how the paper sounded when it hit the porch or the bush nearby.

One of the stories that impressed me most was the jackhammer operator. The man spoke eloquently of  the force the jackhammer had on his body daily…of how even as he sat in his lounge chair after supper, watching television, his body never stopped moving internally, he was still being  jarred by the power of the tool he used to put food on his family’s table. That image…that experience…has stayed with me over all these years. I never pass by a worker using a jackhammer when I don’t think of Studs Terkel, his desire to know the life of this worker and his witness to this person’s seemingly ordinary life. Through his curiosity to learn about the work of this man, I have an appreciation for work I will never do, a feeling of awe for the life of this laborer.

Terkel speaks of always being curious, always being interested in people, their lives, what they do and what they care about. He satisfied his curiosity by being a great listener and then an accomplished storyteller. He seems to have done this by satisfying what I believe is perhaps one of the greatest needs of our time…..to be heard, to be able to tell another person who we are, what makes us tick, to have someone’s undivided attention if only for a few minutes. It is one of the greatest gifts we can give another person….to sit with them, to listen, to be present to their lives.

Unfortunately, our lives are lived at such a pace that we are often doing several things at the same time we have conversations. We are writing, watching TV, emailing, text messaging, eating, even answering our phone. Sometimes those actions are necessary given the situation. But I’ve come to believe that most often they are not….they are simply a way of avoiding the simple act of truly listening and the intimacy listening fosters.

Terkel has spent a long life being witness to the lives of others. Through his curiosity and his presence he has said to countless individuals that their lives are important, their work is important, they are important. His 95 years are a model for each of us……stay curious, ask questions, be present, listen, really listen, be a witness to the ordinary. What an extraordinary life and honorable practice!