My journey this week takes me to Labor Day, which I associate with working and getting tired.
I greatly respect all working persons. My favorite story came from Jesse Mendoza, a born-again Christian and Spanish-speaker who experienced planting and picking fruit and vegetables while growing up. He talked about how one gets tired just thinking about doing a job that is never changing and constant. The Mendoza family presently lives near Ft. Drum, New York. Jesse Mendoza has written a book, "My Journey," about his life. In it, he explained the work ethic the best I’ve ever read:
“My fondest memories are learning to drive a stick shift and working in the fields, or as I was taught to say it, ‘La lavor.’ Funny how I can remember crying because I wanted so much to do what I was shown by my peers… to embrace labor and without shame, you know? The ‘Old School’ way of life; the original upbringing for my culture in those days. We worked in the ‘papa’ (potato) fields... the ‘limpia’ (cleaning of fields) and the ‘planteo’ (planting). Afterwards came the harvesting of course."'
