Alfredo

Always donning a black or navy Nike ball cap, Alfredo was the most humorous of all the custodians I had the chance to work with. He was as slender as the Pall Mall's he smoked at every break, and his leathery Filipino skin served as a testament to his beloved habit. He liked to be alone, but the scent of his cigarette wafting from behind walls or around corners always gave away his location. Whenever I found him, we would exchange insults at each other and then depart or have a short serious conversation. Alfredo frequently spoke in Spanish, and he took great pleasure in calling me a liar (mentiroso) or lazy (flojo). How does one respond to such an attack? 

The lifestyle that Alfredo lived left me humbled and appreciative. From what I gathered, he had two children and a wife. After his custodial job, which lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., he worked at a local onion field from 5:00 p.m. until 11 or 12 at night! Yes, he had to work under the lights. Nevertheless, Alfredo claimed that he liked to work. "The work is not too hard," he would stress. "There is nothing better to do." I suppose he had a point. Better to make money than spend it on some fleeting form of entertainment. Better to spend time working than waste it on a gluttonous feast of food and television.  

I have the impression that his wife worked similar hours, though I never found out where. I am still perplexed as to how his children coped with such a limited presence of their father and mother. Who knows, maybe they were old enough to be in college; or maybe they too were realizing the American dream through an endless bout of toil.