I went to a wash-a-teria to launder some rugs. The manager is Lollie, a black man about 70 who keeps everything neat and clean and the machines running and greets all customers with a friendly smile. He is a schmoozer and raconteur too--he'll talk non stop as long as there's anyone willing to listen.
He saw me pull up and came out and took the laundry basket with the rugs, the bleach and soap in, then continued chatting up a gray haired woman. He said to her, "As I was saying, last week a woman comes in here complaining about all the Mexicans here. I says to her if it wadn't for the Mexicans workin' in the fields, and picking all the produce, who do ya think would do that work? Ya can't get black guys to do it anymore, and forget any white man doing that field labor. One year I went all over the place tryin' to round up workers to help a man pick his watermelon crop--I got about 20 guys, but before noon, they all left but six--they said the work was too hard!

(There are two large commercial vegetable farms here and the produce picked by Mexicans, is shipped all over. Here in South Mississippi, no distinction is made about the nationality of laborers--no matter if they come from Honduras, El Salvador, etc., anyone who lives south of the US border and speaks Spanish are collectively and generically called Mexicans.)

Lollie continued: "Who do ya think harvests all the field produce in Cahleefornya (California). I been there. The Mexicans do it. I been to Shecahgo (Chicago) and who do ya think works in the slaughterhouses and meat packin' plants? The Mexicans do it. So I says to the lady, if it wadn't for the Mexicans, pretty soon ya could go to a grocery store and the shelves would be empty."

The gray haired woman asked Lollie what he thought of Obama. Lollie said "Well, I voted for him, but next time I won't vote for him 'cause so many people hate him, if he gets elected again, somebody's gonna shoot him."
The woman recalled the day when Kennedy was assassinated, and Lollie feigned surprise. "Nah! No way!" he exclaimed. "You don't look old enough to remember that." The woman said "I'm 70."
Lollie said "No! You don't look a day over 69!"

And that was the best laugh of the day--after Lollie got my stuff out of the washer and back to the car.

susil