Under Educated But NOT Un-resourceful!
In
many instances under educated individuals lack the resources to earn a living
wage – whether it be the inability to find work with a business without a GED,
absent training for a skilled labor position, or lack of industriousness. Lack
of education routinely results in a high proportion of high school dropouts
becoming dependent upon government subsidies.
But
this afternoon I saw the other side of the coin. A young man rang my doorbell
and inquired if I needed any trees trimmed or dead trees taken down. He was in
the neighborhood, finished a job early, and rang doorbells looking for
additional work. As it happened, I did need a large double trunk tree with a
hollowed out based removed before it fell, caused injury or damage, and
resulted in my being sued. We walked to
the edge of the property together and he gave me a fair price, assured me that
he was experienced and had brought the appropriate safety equipment, and then
returned to his vehicle to fetch the chainsaw and his assistant. He also mentioned
that he had only an 8th grade education.
He
and his associate took down the tree for the agreed upon price and a pitcher of
ice tea. The work was quick, efficient, performed professionally, and at a fair
price – and far less than it would have cost me to hire a tree service.
I
admire this young man for using his skills – 14 years climbing trees – and grit
to knock on doors and ask for work. I was more than happy hire him to do the
job. If I need more trees taken down, I will call him. He isn’t letting poor choices in youth ruin his
life. He isn’t wallowing in self-pity looking for a handout. He is pursuing the
American dream – one tree at a time. And I admire that.
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