I've long maintained that the "grimy trades" are vastly underappreciated. I kid you not, just today, our Public Works Dept. was cleaning out the storm drains downtown and I thanked this one guy within range for his valuable work. In fact, I think I said "Man, if it wasn't for you guys, I'd be up to my neck in black water. THANKS."
It amazes me how many people have no clue about how the light goes on when you flip the switch. Or, how the water system works, let alone how to repair and maintain a house.
Great post. I couldn't agree more. I do have to say that, while living for 4 years in a very rural area with generational poverty largely created by industries going overseas - the schools there are just the opposite. They encourage everyone to go into the technical trades. When a student shows high mental acuity, it is hard to get the will together to encourage them to pursue a higher education. And higher education is good for the hard sciences where highly educated professionals create new compounds for improvements like SIP construction and PEX water lines.
Its true, the people who do the grimy trades are really the ones who are the backbone of our society, without them our infrastructure wont be upkept and we would be living in terrible conditions.