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| My neighbor "Rich" and "Miguel", early this morning (whom I encountered on my daily early morning walk) |
I took the new header picture last night at work just as the sun was setting. It is of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. That canal leads out to the Broadkill River which in turns leads out to the Atlantic Ocean.
One of my dreams was to retire "near the water." That folks I have done. Mission accomplished!
I don't think I could ever live in a place like Iowa, the middle of America. Of course one very obvious reason I wouldn't live in a place like Iowa, they have folks there who think Ben Carson would be a good president. Those people are crazy. They'll elect any Bible quoting homophobe who is "nice." Don't get me started.
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| Ben Carson and his Iowa evangelical base - they all believe that if you go to prison straight you com out gay- Oh God save us from these people - so hopped up in their self-righteous they can't even think straight |
If I ever moved, and this is a distinct possibility as I get older and more limited in my ability to keep up Casa Tipton-Kelly, I would move to California. Of course I would move with my Canadian soul-mate, and my regular readers know who that is.
A few years ago, for the first time, I needed help on the "grounds" of Casa Tipton-Kelly. That help came in the form of Miguel S., a Mexican immigrant who formed his own landscaping business called "Nice Work Landscaping." Miguel used to work for a HUGE local landscaper who is very expensive. VERY EXPENSIVE.
That landscaper does excellent work but man oh man, are they ever expensive. I said that before didn't I? Well for one thing they have a massive overhead. A friend of mine (a fellow gay immigrant to moved to Delaware to escape the high personal property taxes of his state, New Jersey in his case; mine was Pennsylvania)works for them. I'm pretty sure he gets paid in the upper 60's. A far cry from my meager $11.75 an hour at the hotel.
Wow, I'm really going on long here. Stream of conscious writing folks. Well . . . . anyway, I noticed a few years ago my backyard maintenance was getting away from me. I saw Miguel working across the street for another neighbor. I've seen him around in the neighborhood. He must be pretty good because my neighbors are very fussy but yet at the same time we do look for reasonable rates.
I needed my arborvitae tree, which was near death from an attack from bag worms, out. I asked Miguel how much it would cost. He gave me a very reasonable price. I asked him to take it out. He did without fuss or attitude. Attitude is usually what I get from the "white boys" who do landscaping. I don't know what it is with those guys, are they all on drugs or do they just have a shitty attitude like they're doing you a favor?
Miguel did such a good job I asked him for an estimate to edge all my flower beds. Last year I had asked for a similar estimate from one of the local "white boys." After plowing through this guy's attitude (I think he name was "Jason"), he quoted me a price of $1,200 and said it "could be more." Uh huh. That's what you call an open ended commitment. Goodby Jason. Take your high prices and lousy, disrespectful "'I'm Doing You a Favor Old Man Attitude" somewhere else.
I asked Miguel for an estimate. He quoted me $600. I hired him and his crew of two. They did an excellent job and guess what? NO ATTITUDE! In fact, Miguel and his crew were nothing but polite and respectful, something I have difficulty in finding with the local labor force, such as it exists. A few months ago I called for a plumber. He put me off for several weeks. Never called back. I called him again, he told me "I'll call you!" A few more weeks rolled by. I gave up and took the water recirculator back to Lowe's. When the plumber finally called back and left a message, I didn't return his call. Would that I could get decent service from that guy like I get from Miguel.
In the current political campaign the most of the Republican candidates demonize immigrants, appealing to their Iowa base of (so called) "good Christians" (those full of charity and goodwill don't you know for those less fortunate than them). All I can say is that in my experience I am thankful there are people like Miguel who are willing to do these hard jobs at a reasonable price. After all, I too was one time a lowly laborer just trying to get ahead in the world. I'm glad some people gave me a chance instead of demonizing me.
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| Donald J. Trump, leading Republican candidate for president who is more concerned with the questions being asked him at the Republican debates than he is with treating all people equally - time to get over yourself Donald |
