"Build Yourself"

In my last post I said that I was unemployed. I am technically unemployed but my father recently has been asking me on fridays to help him out. And so, I oblige.

I've long wanted to document what goes on over there so I brought my camera and played journalist pretty well.

Oscar is an illegal immigrant. He's told me his entire story of walking from Honduras where he's from through Mexico without any money. He then swam across the Rio Grande and walked to Houston to take a bus to New York. Oscar is ridiculous. He also tries to teach me Spanish, which I openly welcome. Oscar also bears a striking resemblance to the illegal immigrant version of one of my friend's older brothers.

Messico is the only actual immigrant I know to be from Mexico. His real name is Jose, but everyone calls him Messico. He's short and has a pot leaf tattoo. I'm usually hanging out with Messico and Oscar. If I'm not going out on deliveries or on the job site I am working with them in the yard.

In books and movies there is always a father figure. Well to me at the shop, Gino is the grandfather figure. He is from Agrigento in Sicily and loves to tell stories and impart wisdom. He is a true Italian immigrant, one of the last generations that missed the real Italian Diaspora of the early 20th century (like my own father). He can make some really beautiful handcrafted railings. Just hammer and fire.

Felix is the last worker who got hired and I know very little of him. I know that he is from Italy but lived in Argentina for his whole life before moving here. He smokes cloves and it makes the shop smell terrible. He also sings and looks just like Geppetto from Pinocchio.