Lazy-ass Americans

When I was growing up kids got jobs and some of them were pretty menial. I even worked with my best friend in her mother's office as janitors after hours. Of course we took a lot of breaks where we ate M&M's and smoked (there were real-live ashtrays then and it was not a crime to smoke indoors). However, point being that we vacuumed, cleaned, dusted, etc. and got money for it. My brother worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant. This was not uncommon then.
We-he-he-hell...let me tell you. Those days are SO over.
Americans do not do these jobs anymore. When was the last time your neighbor's kids rang your doorbell and offered to cut your grass or shovel your snow? During the Carter administration?
When was the last time you saw an American kid taking the garbage out to the dumpster at a restaurant? Or mopping the floor. Maybe, and I don't mean this as a dis- if he is developmentally disabled.
If you don't cut your own grass chances are you have a bunch of Spanish speaking guys who jam into the front seat of a truck together who do.
And the guy washing your dishes, doing the cleaning, the garbage and worst of all, emptying the grease trap is a Luis or Carlos. Not Jimmy or Brian.
I went through over 20 dishwashers in my first year of this business. It was a joke- because I believe in laughing my way through life but it was a real problem. I had guys that showed up for work drunk, guys that drank on the job, guys that decided it was too much work and never showed up again or guys that never showed up, period. I had women do the job too. Some were really good, some had the same issues. Too hard of a job.
Now, not all of these folks were Americans. There were plenty of Hispanics who didn't care for the job either. But, the fact is that the ones who were the most dedicated were the hungriest and are from South America. They come from a hard life. They take huge risks to get here. They live in poverty without all the trappings that we take for granted. They have family back home that they send money to. My favorite one that has stayed the longest is grateful for the opportunity to work, has a smile from 8am to midnight on the days he works a double (as per his request) and in turn I am helping him. He is learning English, I am training him to do other jobs such as kitchen and bussing. He's good for me and I'm good for him.
I guess as parents we are to blame for the youth of America not doing these jobs. My own son would no more wash a dish here than he would at home. They don't have the work ethic and I suppose it's a side effect of comfort. Too bad we lost some things when we gained some things.