People with a strong work ethic in California, and Arizona


Although California, and Arizona have reputations of having people who are lazy, or flaky, or say "mañana" (which means that they'll get to it later, and actually never), there are a lot of people with a very strong work ethic, and a lot of energy. You're looking at two of them in the photo at the top of this post.

If you haven't seen hard-working people, it's probably because you aren't one yourself. Sorry, but if you're dragging yourself to get to a job with bleary eyes clutching a cup of coffee and moving like a zombie, I understand. But that was never me, and it wasn't the type of people that I hung around with.

There was a time when I attributed my work ethic to growing up in Minnesota, but that doesn't really explain it. I know a lot of people back home who are so lazy that it seems to be an effort for them to get up off of the couch to reach for more chips, or the remote, to watch another game on TV. I've decided that it runs deeper than that in me, and I sought out people like me, which is normal human social behavior. These people worked, and they moved with energy!

Most of the people that I knew in California didn't have just one job, they had several. And they would be awake while the stars were still out, and take a lunch break at ten, while most people were still trying to wake up. I loved the energy of these people, and they in turn energized me. At any early age I learned that there were 24 hours in a day, and even if you spent eight of them at a job, it left you with a lot of time to do other stuff.

These people worked hard, and they played hard. Over the years I found people who like to do more than just sit around all day, staring vacantly into space, waiting to go back to their bleary-eyed job the next morning, and dreaming of retiring so that they could do even less with their lives. It was an early life lesson for me, and I'm grateful for the people who showed me the way.

¡Vamanos!
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