When I was a little kid in Cuba, my Country of birth, my father and I will go out together, on Saturdays to the movies and lunch. We traveled by bus. I never forget this, once riding in the bus, which was pretty empty (weekend) a construction worker got on it.
He obviously has just gotten off work, he was covered rather his overalls in cement mud, his hands had cement streaks on them, and he had body odor, he smelled. I tried to move further away from him and told my father, he asked me why? They were perfectly good seats, in the front of the bus near the doors.
My father looked at me and said, what you smell is the smell of a man who just finished a day of back breaking hard work. He told me, that is what an honest day of hard work smells like. It is not offensive he said to me, because there is pride, honesty in hard work, it puts food on the table, a roof over his family’s head, and maybe with luck and more hard work, that man kids could get an education (my parents were big on education).
He also said to me, "I hoped you understand that today, you have learned a valuable lesson, to appreciate the effort and sweat of all working people, regardless of the kind of work they perform".
Then he looked at me and asked me, do you want to move to another seat?
I said no I understood. We ended up chatting up with the gentleman in the overalls, indeed he has just gotten off work, from a construction site, extra work on a Saturday, outdoors, with hot humid weather. He even apologized for his appearance.
My answer to him was, talking up a storm, asking him what kind of work he did, how he did it, about his family, his kids, etc. My father and I spent the rest of the bus ride, conversing with him.
I still get choked up thinking about my father, the lessons that he taught me as a kid, that everyone honest work is valuable, it is a contribution to all of us.
A few years later, my Mother as a widow with two kids, when we came to America, I am proud to say worked as a housekeeper, child care (babysitting), took care of us, and my elderly grandparents. My younger sister and I got a college education.
I owe my life to my mother’s sacrifice, and to my father lessons in humility.
Thank You for Reading.