Flutterby™! : More career counseling

Somewhat related to my rants on career choices on Saturday, I was biking to Berkeley this morning, and, just south of Richmond's Marina Bay in the middle of that bike path through the slough, got a flat. Checked my saddle pack, no spare tube. Too early to find a bike store. Pick up the bike, start walking. Long about CostCo on the El Cerrito/Albany border, a scruffy looking guy asked if he could help, but he had the wrong size tubes, so I carried on. Half a mile later, another scruffy looking guy comes up behind and says "You're obviously in a hurry, I'm not, take the tube from my front tire." So I did, got on the bike, hit an ATM, rode back to their camp, camouflaged well, but obvious once it's pointed out, and repaid the guy. And he said "great, and if there's any sort of grunt labor I can do for you, here's my qualifications."

The problem was I got the feeling of a Cargo Cult approach to success. An "If I can only acquire the trappings" approach to a job. Don't know how to verbalize it better than that, but I think something in understanding that feeling is the reason we don't have good dole-to-work programs.