11 FEB 07: WORKING IN THE BACK
Sometimes we receive good suggestions for this blog - and sometimes we receive outright challenges. Take this e-mail from the other day:
Why do you not write an article in the Blog about the Illegal Aliens the Builders & Contractors are using to Build the Growth In Columbus...They are BREAKing the law, They need held accountable, Fines and exposure need placed!
You could even expose some of the places the Builders/Contractors pick up Illegals at.. Like Behind the Spectrum at Plateau dr. off Victory Drive...(Spectrum sits in front of The trailer park) Go early one morning during the week, just at break of dawn up to 9:00am and view for yourself.. very interesting it is!
How Laws are being broken and how So Many Legal Local Construction Folks are out of work because of this... do you turn you're head also,is this a joke to be made in your Blog??
People need to write, Call, Fax to D.C. and State Representatives.
Major,Major problem In Columbus Ga.
G. Waters
We wouldn't normally mention this -- but we can see right away one reason why Mr./Ms. Waters is concerned. So many illegal immigrants simply don't want to learn a proper use of the English language.
This blog examined Columbus construction and immigration last August [20-23 Aug 06]. We found the Columbus Home Builders Association has given its members guidance on staying within immigration law, with its workers and subcontractors. The only big crackdown we've heard about since then occurred at Fort Benning - so how much should the Justice Department fine the Army?
But since Mr./Ms. Waters suggested it, I got up early Friday morning and drove to the Spectrum at Victory Drive and Plateau Drive. One of the morning employees admitted to me immigrants often gather behind the store and wait for work. And with "no parking" signs in the back, they don't have to worry about being run over.
I parked my car next door at a closed loan office about 7:00 a.m., and saw the first three people show up behind Spectrum within minutes. They seemed to emerge from a mobile home park behind the back fence - and unlike some people outside Phenix City drug stores, not one of them asked me for a handout.
A man from Guatemala was in the first group of three workers. I knew enough Spanish to ask several questions, and learned he's been in the U.S. four years. But when I asked, "¿Legal o illegal?" the answer was lengthy and a bit hard for me to understand. This was where I wished Univision had bought TV-16, so I could have more advanced Spanish lessons.
The Guatemalan was joined before sunrise by a man who was picked up quickly by someone. I tried to snap a picture of the license plate, but it didn't turn out legible and I didn't write it down. Besides, what if the man was getting a ride to Columbus Technical College to take classes?
The third member of the early group was a native of Mexico. He told me he's been in the U.S. two years - legally. That's one thing I've noticed in the immigration debate: some people see a Hispanic-looking person and immediately conclude he or she MUST be an illegal immigrant. They could be from Puerto Rico - which still is a U.S. commonwealth.
The man from Mexico told me he takes whatever job he's offered - and is what I called a "Jack of all trades." No, I don't think he's really a Monterrey Jack....
The early group told me about ten to 20 people show up behind the Spectrum on Victory Drive six mornings a week, looking for work. They told me even U.S. natives show up there. So there you go -- some businesses might really be equal opportunity employers.
A pair of "workers for hire" came out from behind the Spectrum back fence shortly after sunrise. Their arrival brought another interesting surprise - because one of them revealed he actually could speak fairly good English.
That young man was looking for landscaping work. He says it's sometimes 11:00 a.m. before someone comes by to give him a job - but he says he's "paid cash" at the end of each work day. Before you call this an immigration dodge, consider this: do you deduct Social Security and Medicare, when a teenager in your neighborhood cuts your grass?
"It's raining, so there might not be work today," the young man admitted. It truly was a chilly Friday morning, with sporadic light rain and a temperature around 40 degrees. Yet people were outside, ready for work - and the person who challenged me to join them might want to consider sending a donation for cold medicine.
That young man from Mexico had been in the U.S. about six months. He talked about obtaining a visa, so he can work longer. But I know from personal experience that Visas don't always work around.... oh, I'm sorry. Enough about debit cards at Publix....
A third group of three immigrants from Mexico showed up behind Spectrum a bit later. On this chilly morning, they went inside Spectrum to buy and heat cups of chicken noodle "Instant Lunch." So at least the store is getting some business from these potential workers - even if it seems to lack in microwave oatmeal.
At 8:15 a.m. the rain came down a bit harder. Four of the seven remaining workers for hire walked under Spectrum overhangs to stay dry. The other three crowded under the open lid of a dumpster, near the back fence -- the dumpster where they threw their empty cups of Instant Lunch. If only they could read the dumpster sign which says "cardboard...."
Perhaps the young man who spoke some English was right. Perhaps no one would need these workers on a cold, rainy day. I was prepared to wait for a business truck to show up, but I decided to drive home at that point. I'd proven two things: that the e-mailer was right about where immigrant workers gather. And I was more of a weather wimp than they were.
As I think about what I saw, several conclusions come to mind. These seven or so immigrant workers aren't really that different from the "day laborers" who have gathered for years near the House of Mercy, or more recently on Cusseta Road -- people who might be homeless, and of any nationality. And if that small group on Victory Drive is "building Columbus," we need a lot more of them.
So to the e-mailer, I'd conclude we ARE open to jokes about immigration in Columbus. If you have some to send, I'll gladly Peru them -- uh, peruse them.
LAUGHLINE FLASHBACK: The late Anna Nicole Smith came up several times during the years when we wrote LaughLine for a national audience. Here's a sample of what we wrote about her....
2 Aug 02: Anne Nicole Smith comes to prime-time television this weekend, in a new "reality" series. Apparently we'll finally see how much of her is real, and how much is padded....
"E - Entertainment Television" has shamelessly borrowed from The Osbournes, for "The Anna Nicole Show." Cameras follow Anna Nicole Smith's every move day after day -- so you might be tempted to call it "Big Sister."
We've already been told one vital detail of "The Anna Nicole Show." At one point she declares: "I haven't had SEX in two years." [True/AP] Smith's photo must be posted at the front desk of every senior center in Los Angeles.
(Whaddya think - will "The Anna Nicole Show" be sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons?)
Anna Nicole Smith's regular life may not be exciting enough for "E." We've read stories of the production staff filling her refrigerator with an energy drink, and encouraging Smith to get a sexy tattoo. It's hard to have a "sit-com" when the star does little more than sit.
The "E" channel is giving Anna Nicole Smith's show lots of publicity. In fact, the network's web site.... has an online game connected to the show - called the "Treasure Chest" game. Why do we suspect the emphasis is supposed to be on the "chest" part?
8 Aug 02: "Entertainment Tonight" showed a clip of this weekend's "Anna Nicole Show," with Anna Nicole Smith dressed as Little Bo-Peep. When we saw this tape, the first question was obvious. Little?!?!
16 Aug 02: Sunday night's episode of "The Anna Nicole Show" will show Anna Nicole Smith in a pizza-eating contest. And you thought this program was cheesy enough already....
21 Aug 02: A company in suburban Chicago has developed "Life Gems." Your loved one is cremated - then the carbon from the ashes is turned into a diamond. We suspect there's already an order waiting from Anna Nicole Smith....
22 Aug 02: A T-V movie already is in the works about the Enron scandal. It'll be called "The Crooked E".... Either this refers to the Enron corporate logo - or a cable channel owes Anna Nicole Smith a lot of money.
30 Aug 02: Sunday night's edition of "The Anna Nicole Show" finds Anna Nicole Smith in Las Vegas, with male strippers. This is one time when the strippers might provide more wholesome entertainment....
COMING MONDAY: What Target, Krystal and a box of brownies have in common.... plus it's a Hurtsboro Monday, too....
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