Jeff,
What a great post. I recently worked with someone who is just starting out booming, as I am mixing. I have shared with him my philosophy on how to get good sound, and he understands it and at least pretends to agree with it. Some of that philosophy I adopted listening to Don when I had the honor of working with him pulling cable for just one day on a TV second unit not long ago. This boom guy has a work ethic rare to find in someone in his early 20's, even as a second generation sound man, and has a great attitude. I was lucky enough to meet him on a job he and I did for nothing. He was there every day, for no pay, on set with a collection of inexperienced morons, yet managed to keep a cool head and helped me get a track far better than they could have expected. It gives me great hope, reading your article, that perhaps as our work experience grows, so will our careers. And I won't post his name here, beacause I don't want any of you stealing him!
Hope Rush Hour 3 is going well (almost over?).
Robert