My older brother had a knack for being a "Cold Practical Jokester" when we were younger. This is the primary difference between us; my desire then, as it is now, was to provide a comedy relief of sorts. My brother's was to hurt you and by you I mean me, by either leading an entire group of kids to our front yard to fight me ( for "talking shit about mom" he'd tell me) or in this case convincing me to get into a huge tractor tire and then letting him roll the huge tractor tire off a small mountain with me inside would be his twisted idea of fun. If you can imagine a half dollar rolling off a high surface in your house equivalent to a small mountain, lets say the kitchen table, and the said half dollar (JFK screaming his ass off) lands on the floor, coin edge down, with the momentum of oh, about five miles an hour with my brother running along beside (laughing his ass off), JFK desperately trying to escape only to be sucked back in.The coin rolls just fast enough to keep it going until it finally reaches the back hall bathroom (JFK screaming his ass off), where it finally slows down and then begins its wobble (JFK screaming his ass off) slow at first then faster and tighter (JFK screaming his ass off) before finally laying still next to the toilet resting on the floor with JFK's arms and legs tangled. When I finally came to and started my bitter painful cry, nothing came out due to my nostrils and mouth being clogged with tire mud loosened by the inertia.I walked to where my parents were and I remember my father smacking and yelling at me. I found out later it was because my Sunday clothes were covered with tire mud, snot and my own blood. I really could not hear him at that moment due to the tire mud that was packed in my ears, from the effects of the wobble (and me screaming my ass off).
Landscape laborer: Mexi- where?
You know who is really learning the landscape industry? The Mexicans. They are willing to deal with the tire mud and low brow abuse to pay the bills. Once on this path the inertia is unstoppable and yet they keep on working to the end. I was watching "The Dirt King" the other night and as I was watching this guy from Brooklyn, New York, explain his genius for placing plants, I couldn't help notice the oompa loompa like laborers milling around in the background and doing all the work. I thought, "Hey! That looks like Jose." The Mexican workers that exist in our part of Arizona have been the unfavorably spoken of backbone of the industry. Like it or not they are quickly becoming the majority of licensed landscape business owners. The days of Mexican laborers though are fleeting due to economics. Eight years ago mostly Mexicans were available and willing to push a mower. Slowly I started seeing more Americans (white males) getting hired and then promoted after a week of work. They are then immediately issued two Mexicans and a white truck. When the American would finally find a nice cushy job renting U-Hauls, he would stop showing up leaving the two Mexicans to finish the work and the white truck parked until the next American showed up. American workers are now filling the ranks of the laborers. Anyways, after two years working outdoors who can till the difference unless you speak to them.
Snowbird: Excuse me, senor. Can you tell me how to get to Mexicali?
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| "Excuse us, senor" |
Snowbird: Oh excuse me, I thought you were a. .. you must be the boss?
It can be difficult, if you can imagine, for a person of any color or nationality to endure the often wincing humor of let's say, a white manager who refers to the Mexican water tech as the "Resident Taco Tech". This same tech helped two corporate know-it-all's out of a jam while they were attempting to demonstrate their "State-of-the-Art Intelligent technology super-advanced method of turning the water on" irrigation controller. Our "Taco Tech" knew more about the damn controller than the high paid technicians. I guess what I'm trying to share is this: It is very difficult at times to be in an industry that has a certain unquestionable amount of bigotry, most of which is due to the offending person's lack of ability to say something amusing or funny without being overly offensive. In other words, it's easy to kick somebody when they need to make their rent. It's just something to think about for tomorrow, the start of week two of 12 weeks of hot and miserable weather. The Serial Landscaper.
