Patriotic things, and screw the Stock Market.
In high school I worked on a farm for 3 years....I got to know a lot of mexicans....learned their language.
One night back in 1973 or 74 around dusk I was controlling the rear end a a tart cherry frame from the fender of a Ford 5000 as Jose backed up the rig from one row to the next. If you don't know cherry shaking it's a long I-beam with a conveyor behind the pulling tractor. We were backing it up, the tractor and the shaking rig and I was steering the rear tires to the fram. I was on the fender controlling the rear wheels to the frame 70 feet behind us.......as Jose backed us out of a row into another.
When all the sudden as I staired at the rear wheels...a limb of a tree just whisked me off the rear fender and I fell toward the front tires, free fall right under that
tractor front tires certain to get crushed to death.
Old Joe, Jose had arms the girth of a football as I fell he snagged me out of the corner of his eye and drew my body towards his face and said "Gringo where to you think the hell you are going?"
4 Years later after 3 years in College I got a call from a banker in town. Joe, Jose....didn't want to go back down to Mexico with his family, he wanted to live here. He wanted to borrow money, rent, find a job, and get a car. I told Joe that night he saved my life I owned him one, whatever you need. Never thinking he'd call it in. And he did, and I put up every thing I had back then, $6000 and cosigned him into a loan.
20 years later his wife has died of cancer, his daughter works at a fuel stop gas station, his brother Frank is a Marine, and his Son is in the Navy, the United States Marines and Navy...
Hard times make you think of shit, and look folks up. I'm happy to know all is right. And I'd have never thought that night in the orchard thousands of night ago in years gone by, Joe thanks me for helping his family become Americans, and I thank him for being able to type these words.. |
