Ahh, spring. A glorious weekend; too much yard work to do ourselves. So Laura called "John" and asked him if she could pay him to blow leaves out of the beds, rake, and so forth. Yes, he could, and did.
How did you meet John, I asked Laura? She said he showed up at our door with his pregnant wife about three years ago, looking for work. She hired him, and he now comes over from time to time.
John is Latino. I don't know if he is here legally, and I didn't ask Laura.
She pays him by the hour, and he works VERY hard.
So today I'm out raking with him, talking about immigration policy, health care reform, ethnic discrimination, the American dream, and so forth.
No, actually we were just raking together.....peacefully.
I wondered: Is he here legally? If not, what are my obligations?
I wondered: Does he have health insurance for his (now) 2 year old daughter?
I wondered: Should the federal government help him obtain it?
I wondered: Is he participating in the American dream, or exploiting it?
I wondered...
What he was wondering, I didn't ask.
Better yet, we both just kept scraping the rakes over the ground, slowly revealing the grass sprouting from below.
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