Short Native Grasses

August 20, 2014

It has been a while.  Over a month. There are times when I regret not writing more and there are others where it is probably for the best. The past two weeks have been very trying. The job continues and it is going very well. The equipment is no longer held together with tape, wire and prayer.  I have managed to upgrade to tack welds, crazy glue and hope.  The crew has shrunk, which is a source of lamentations and joy. I find myself torn between two choices. Each choice can be easily justified and defended but neither one feels right.  

Simply put, I find myself trying to do a good job for bad people.  The kind of people who wantonly and casually exploit and disadvantage others.  The kind of people who steep every conversation with lies.  My temper has cooled, but the violent cracking of these keys cannot hide the rage I suppress when thinking about this human scum.  I'm disappointed, because there was a time when I believed the lies.  When I gave them the benefit of my doubt.  I wasted my compassion on these people. Now I wouldn't spit in their mouths if they were dying of thirst.  I watched quietly as my boss tried to coerce the young Italian couple into saying until the end of August.  First he approached the husband,

“Well I was just talking to your wife and she said that she wants to stay, why don't you?”

Mere minutes later, he made the inverse statement to the wife. He tried every bullying tactic you could imagine.  He pressed and pressed, he threatened and yelled. Eventually he pushed the couple to the edge.  They were scared and confused.  It was at this point that they discovered the fair work ombudsman.  The tables of power rapidly turned and the ensuing rodeo of panic is one I will never forget.

Firstly, the Italians quickly learned how underpaid they were.  This was something that surprised me.  I never thought that my boss would do something like that.  There was a part of me that was starting to believe again that people are inherently good. Kudos to them for quickly killing that little bud. The Italians were understandably upset, but they were very diplomatic about the entire thing.  They admitted that they had not done their due diligence, a very strong argument could be made that it was their fault for accepting a lower rate of pay.  So off they went to the bosses house, armed with their new information and the knowledge that we are currently very short of manpower.  Their request was simple, fair wages for the last week of work, and that the last week of work would be no more than 70 hours.  Now I wasn't there, but my understanding is that they were initially told to go fuck themselves. After some seriously hateful words were exchanged, an offer was made. Fair pay, or an audit. An honest man has nothing to fear, and I'm told that the wife was so flustered she couldn't speak. The ensuing panic is still settling.

It makes me sad because I was beginning to trust these people.  They have offered me a tantalizing management position. 1200 acres of prime irrigated cropland.  600 acres of “dry” crop.  A dream that I dared to desire. This isn't the place, because these are not the type of people you work with. Which brings me to my immediate juxtaposition.  I pride myself in the quality of my work. I want to, and I will do everything I can to, be the best. Now I ask myself, do these people deserve that kind of effort? Do they warrant my worry? Should I stress and fret about the work I'm doing for them? Bear in mind, these people have openly expressed to me that they were in no way unaware of the short deal they were giving to the Italian couple.  They laugh about it.  I sit quietly and listen to their shrill howling.  Then the other side of me kicks in.  The neighbours have stopped and talked to me.  Hell if it wasn't for a couple neighbours, I wouldn't know dick about pruning.  They are amazed by my work.  They shake my hand and beam.  They offer me jobs. So I think that is what I have consigned myself to do.  I will continue to do this job, in the most professional manner, to the very best of my abilities.  I will amaze and astound, because every day that I do is another day closer to my freedom.  

In a country where you can be whatever you want, where you can let your actions speak for you. Im going to be certain that my work speaks volumes. Im also going to take a page from Milton, and they better not try to take my stapler.