Tough Isn't Enough

Watching "America's Toughest Jobs" makes me want to wear a sweater! They've been working in cold places, which to me is as rough as the jobs they are tackling. Last week they were catching crabs in the Bering Sea and last night they were trucking on icy roads in Alaska. Next week, it'll be mining gold in Alaska. I hope they go to a warmer climate soon.

I've seen numerous commecials for "Ice Road Truckers" and finally decided to watch an episode last week. After about five minutes, I had to turn the channel. It was just too intense for me. Maybe I'm too empathetic, but it terrified me. I hadn't realized at the time that "America's Toughest Jobs" was going to feature a similar challenge this week.

I'm impressed that the contestants even learned to drive big rigs, let alone on ice. Again, most of the women did really well. It was a man who was chosen best driver, though. Men were among the worst, too. The four bottom people had to compete in a race, of sorts. It involved backing the truck and unhitching the trailer. Chris had a crappy attitude during the drive and he did very poorly in the race. He should have gone home.

The only reason he didn't was that Amy, who had backed perfectly, couldn't get the rig unhitched. She ended up being the one eliminated. I don't feel too badly about it because she was bound to leave soon. Last week, she came close to being sent home for her poor performance as a crab fisher. I'm guessing Chris or Eric will be next to go home. There are 11 contestants left, and I think only 3 are women. I'd love to see Michaela or Sandy win, but the odds aren't in their favor.

Whether a woman wins or not, we can see on the show that women can tackle and succeed at tough jobs. I probably wouldn't want my daughter to take on jobs as dangerous as those on the show, but I'm encouraged that they are at least being given chances to take on hard tasks. Maybe one day we'll even have a woman president!