I wouldn't have a clue, but I can ask on FB what the Irish for goddess is if you still need it? I've a few gaelgoirs on there.

My guess is there's a few different words for it. There tend to be for groups of people, and I bet there's pre and post Christian ones too...

I agree that the way Americans are taught to look down on "mere manual labor" is something to be ashamed of

I have been thinking a lot about this topic lately. Specifically, I have a client whose mother is in California right now picking grapes so she can pay her son's legal bills. Honestly, this makes me feel like shit, although he tried to make me feel better by telling me that she's only boxing grapes and that is much easier than actually picking the grapes. In the end, though, I ended up telling him that as a mother, I would do anything for my children. But I don't think her boxing grapes should evoke "I would do anything" feelings in me because what she is doing deserves respect. She is working hard to put her family in a better place and I respect that.

I know we are often down on Ayn Rand around here, and I have my own issues with her, but iirc, she placed a high value on work that actually produces something. One of the hardest working women I know is a client's guardian who picks mushrooms to support her husband, four children and two wards. Not glamorous, but I respect her hard work.

eta: I'm not sure what my point is wrt Ayn Rand - I guess just that she valued manual labor in her writings. If I had more time, I'd be curious to know more about why.

Thanks for all the lookups. I needed it as a passing term of address in a conversation, and I decided bean-uasal for "lady" worked better. It's a pity addressing someone as "lady" in English now comes off as mildly insulting.

I'm not sure what my point is wrt Ayn Rand - I guess just that she valued manual labor in her writings.

Well, yes and no. She made noises at it, but the plebes were not her friends.

but the plebes were not her friends.

I wouldn't take dating advice from her either.

Those are letters of support for a proposal, though, right? I think that's totally different than a personal letter of recommendation.

Well, there are letters for a proposal. But one of our grantors asks for letters for us. And those are all, "Dave & Lisa are so awesome..." kinda letters.

Oh, which reminds me. I dunno which thread it was in, but wherever Spidra mentioned "Awesome God," that song actually is a contemporary song and the usage of "awesome" was deliberate in both the contemporary and old sense. It was that songwriter, who died in 1997, whose family funded most of our work for the past decade.

I wasn't the one who mentioned that, but it's interesting.

It's too bad "awesome" has changed its sense so much. I think we should use "awe-inspiring" in its place when the old sense is needed.

If it's the songwriter I'm thinking of, oh how I love him. Some of his lyrics were just achingly beautiful.

If I had my 20s to live over again, I would definitely (among many other things) pursue a skilled manual labor trade.

I wish I'd stuck with it more, and paid more attention at the time. Although I will say in non-union states, like here, it's not the greatest gig in terms of pay and bennies. In 2000 the lead framing carpenter at the GC I worked for made $15/hr, only $5 more than me with my scant 2 years of experience, and got health insurance only after he'd worked for the company for 15 years. That "years" is not a typo.

I wouldn't take dating advice from her either.

Right!?!