So my old pal Janet ends up, and I don't know if her high school diploma played a role or not, as the boss of the loading dock at the shop where she works.
Aka the "logistics coordinator."
After the returns from the inmate driver training initiative began to falter, the trucking industry... oh, I mean the "logistics solution providers," began scraping around for another possible source for workers, as the obvious solution of providing a decent wage has yet to occur to them.
If the ex-cons would rather go back to jail than take the opportunity you've generously offered them, what groups in society are left that you could possibly interest in your employment opportunities?
New immigrants!
It's the American way!
The new guys take the bottom rung of the employment ladder, and everybody else moves up a step!
That's happened to everybody ever since the original Anglo invasion, ie the Pilgrims.
Happened to the Germans and the Jews, the Italians and the Irish.
The Greeks mostly started up restaurants right away, so they're an exception, but not really; they just make a voluntary choice to work insane hours for minimal pay for themselves.
But everybody else more or less expects to start at the bottom when they get to the New World.
One group that's become more visible over the last few years is the Sikhs. There's more and more of them washing ashore, or more likely stepping off a jet from Frankfurt, every day.
There's more and more of them driving the big rigs down the Interstates every day.
And here's why. Driving a big rig may be a shit job, but if you're willing to put in mind-blowing back-breaking bag-ripping hours, you can bring home a good dollar at the end of the month.
So last week Janet is having one of those shit days at work, you know, the kinda day when you're wishin' the Lord would just quit screwing around and take you home... she just can't take it anymore, so she ducks out the back for a smoke.
While she's out there, contemplating the odds of ever winning a lottery, she notices a semi-trailer coming down the street at a higher than usual speed. Hmm... Buddy better hit the brakes soon...
BUDDY BETTER HIT THE BRAKES!!!...
Just as the rig runs over a pick-up truck she notices Buddy, a pudgy brown guy in a turban, running madly down the street after his truck!
The first collision slowed it down a bit, and as it's bearing down on several more vehicles and some houses, he manages to clamber aboard and bring it to a stop.
By now Janet's forgot all about her lottery win.
"Holy friggin Jeezus" she tells me, "all of a sudden I realized my day wasn't that bad after all!"
Buddy climbs out the truck, falls on his knees, and is weeping and praying at the same time.
Which proves that no matter how bad you think your day is, you've still got a lot to be thankful for!
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