Thursday, June 5, 2014

Under Educated But NOT Un-resourceful!

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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