This was my job right out of high school:
That led to jobs bussing and waiting tables while I went to college, until construction is what I settled on and started the process of climbing up the ladder, at 20-something all over again by doing this initially:
I dug my ass off until I could convince those around me to let me try my hand at carpentry. I made noise until I was sent to work with the trim carpenters where I worked at the time, and I eventually was able to hone the skills necessary to do this kind of work:
Stay with me, folks, because I’m not just posting some self-congratulatory and egotistical claptrap. I’m trying to make a point.
The work I do, pictured here, is the rule, not the exception, of the type of work in which I have been involved since I began my construction career. In spite of that, my small business, a single-owner operation, went down in flames last year. Now I can’t get a job washing dishes*. I am hoping that will change soon.
I promised a point, here it is:
In my youth I ascribed to the canard that “illegals are doing the work we won’t”, in spite of how I came up through not one, but TWO industries as a white American and the son of fairly affluent parents. I don’t think I am any different than most people in this country that have the drive to want to excel and be the master, to a great extent, of their own destiny. But now, we are being invaded by illegals who will do all sorts of tasks that they are not skilled or qualified to perform, for a hell of a lot less than I can because I, like other Americans, am not willing to lower my standard of living. The irony is that, in wanting a better life by coming here illegally and working for slave wages, undocumented workers are destroying the way of life we, and they, CHERISH. If we continue to let illegals flood this country, we are doomed.
Call me a racist, but I hope this legislation passes, as I am poised to move to Florida in hopes that I can once again find an opportunity to do what I do best.
*Hyperbole: An extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally…
12. August 2010 at 6:52 am
Cnn is reporting today that:
One of about every 12 babies born in the United States in 2008 was the offspring of unauthorized immigrants.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution stipulates that those children automatically become U.S. citizens
nearly one of every four children under age 18 in the nation was a Hispanic.
All the above statements were copied directly from CNN the liberal loving network.
If those were the numbers in 2008 can you imagine what they are now. The only comfort I get from these numbers is…. At least they are not Muslims.
12. August 2010 at 8:16 am
Every cloud has a silver lining…
12. August 2010 at 8:12 am
I suspect it’s a campaign ploy of McCollum’s, but even so, it’s very welcome. Supposedly they’ve taken out the unruly bits that caused Arizona’s law so much trouble. We’ll see. But it’s a step in the right direction.
And let me say again… you are truly an artist.
12. August 2010 at 8:17 am
I need to get up to speed on Florida politics!
And, thanks!
12. August 2010 at 12:00 pm
South Florida politics are very different. You must be Cuban, black or Jewish plus corrupt to get elected. Our republicans are not much better if they are at all. Until the 2000 election I did not know there was a difference.
I have the ability to do just about anything but I cannot do that Kind of work even in my dreams – working with wood is the hardest I have tried.
Cleaned Mike’s comment up b/c he was working from his Blackberry and in a rush to boot.
12. August 2010 at 1:59 pm
You must be Cuban, black or Jewish plus corrupt to get elected.
Oy vay, I should run for office!
I’ve often said that my skill is just that I was fortunate to have very good teachers in the fellow craftsmen that I’ve worked with, for and under. I’m one of many, many people out there doing this kind of work. There are many more skilled than I. I guess it’s a gift of sorts as well…
12. August 2010 at 12:43 pm
The curved crown and door moldings… HOLY CRAP! That’s beautiful!!
You can ask Mrs. Who – I bitch to her all the time at how nearly all the true artisans are gone, that the art of building has been replaced by the speed of prefabrication and machined construction, and how that trend of replacing craftsmen with (un)skilled labor is depriving our society of the beauty and awe of true architectural design. If you look to architecture for information about a society, ours has become vapid, uninspired, and droll over the past decades, preferring cold, dry efficiency to beauty and inspired design. All the glass, metal, laminates, sheetrock and concrete do nothing for me. I love the look, feel, smell, and all the ambiance of life that wood delivers. I have seen your work before, and I am simply awed…
That said, I agree with you 110% on what devastating effect the unbridled flood of unskilled labor has done to our economy and our architectural identity. The greatest example I personally have witnessed began just after Hurricane Ivan in 2004. With so much roof damage inflicted by the storm throughout our region, roofing contractors were impossible to book. Pensacola, Gulf Shores, Foley and others were suddenly “Blue-Roof Cities.” The vast majority of rooftops were covered for many months to nearly two years with blue tarps to keep out the rain and weather. Desperate people contracted with whomever they could to get repairs done as quickly as possible. This meant a flood of illegals seeking work in an atmosphere ripe for fraud, theft, and sub-standard repairs. Insurance companies refused to pay for work done by unlicensed contractors – and with good reason. Often times, the “repairs” caused more problems than they fixed. Crime skyrocketed, especially job-site theft of tools and materials, and burglaries. Today, years after the last blue roof was repaired, years after the housing boom and bust, those illegals are still here. They’ve changed the face of our quiet community. They’ve taken it over, and the standard of living here has visibly plummeted. Granted, the lousy economy has a lot to do with it, but long-established businesses have closed as Mexican markets and taquerias have sprouted up all over, typically bringing with them troups of day-workers who loiter around the storefronts, driving away customers from their neighboring businesses. It’s a creeping, malignant blight of poverty, malevolence and indifference, and it’s quickly overwhelming the healthy fabric of our society.
12. August 2010 at 2:03 pm
Thanks. Agree with your synopsis – saw it during the aftermath of the Oakland firestorm back in California. Same scenario to a t.
12. August 2010 at 6:21 pm
same thing in South Florida after all the storms starting with Andrew, but the bigest damage was the 1980 Cuban boat lift – it dumped all the sicky’s and criminals in Cuda on our streets – we went from sleepy paridise to #1 in crime overnight – when we left in 95 only 18% of violent criminals were convicted, 82% stayed on the streets
12. August 2010 at 11:56 pm
I am really kind of unhandy. I taught myself simple gunsmithing and handloading ammunition. That is pretty much the best I can do. Still, I have a fence around my back yard.
Yet we have this crowd in Washington that cannot seem to master the simple fence. Just build the damned fence cross the southern border. If they can’t manage that, they should go home.
13. August 2010 at 5:04 am
They should hire a bunch of us to build it!
13. August 2010 at 4:23 am
I know I’m missing the point, but I’d just like to say:
I work in a restaurant, and the dishwasher has the hardest job in the restaurant. It sucks back there in the dish room.
Just sayin’.
13. August 2010 at 5:03 am
Pearl diving sucks, no doubt, but consider this:
I always have said that a waiter’s job is hardest. A good waiter, one who really knows and works the trade, has to coordinate ALL of the other people in the house: The dishwasher, the cooks, the host/hostess, the bartender, the bussers and not least, the customers. It is incredibly taxing to do that job successdfully day in and day out.
I have great respect for restaurant workers but hope to christ I NEVER have to do that job again!