This has been - and I hope will continue to be - wonderful reading. I came into the trade during the transition from cold type to computer design, and was fortunate to work for a company that encouraged the "typies & pasties" to follow their work through camera, stripping and plate-making. It was invaluable experience. (And I learned to detest a favorite red sweater that shed onto my mechanicals!)

I disagree with your remarks about unions - after all, that was a union retirement facility pictured, right? In my experience business owners (I'm one, now) are rarely willing to concede benefits without some pressure being applied.

And yes, I work long hours and suffer every stress-related ailment known to humans. I think it's the nature of the business - and the knowledge that your errors will be permanently recorded for all time. Certainly web designers don't seem to have the same need for the companionship of dictionaries, atlases and biographical name lists!

Warm regards!
Peggy Coquet