Not All Teenagers Are Lazy & Selfish

Too often these days it seems we all encounter or read about teenagers who are lazy, selfish, or worse. They live their lives with complete disrespect for everyone and everything else. In Vancouver this often takes the form of well to do Asian, South Asian, and White kids who purport to live their lives like Faux Inner City Black Gangstas.

Well, I'm very happy to report that there are exceptions to the rule. Staying with me this summer is an 18 year old Mexican teenager named Danny. I've known him since he was seven but I've never been so proud of him as I have this past weekend. So much happened but here are the highlights:

• We hauled 17 monitors out of storage, including some old 19" ones that were 55 lbs!
• Picked up 19 computers from one of our Vancouver techs, Bruce.
• Delivered 12 computers in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond, to very happy recipients.
• Moved a large dining table and chairs from my uncle's place in Ladner.
  

And through it all Danny didn't complain once, didn't avoid work once, and didn't once ask when we'd be done. What a fine young fellow!



Sidebar: The most amusing part of his time here is the way 95% of people react when I tell them that he's from Mexico. The reaction is consistently the same: A curious stare, followed by an expression of disbelief, and then either asking me if I'm joking or asserting that "he doesn't look like any Mexican person I've ever seen".

A Contrast of Values

Two seemingly unrelated events occurred today that I just have to share. My mom & I took the bus out to Ladner to visit her older brother who recently moved into an assisted living facility. When we got to the Ladner Bus Exchange, a man came to the front door and said to the driver, "Hey man, I don't have any change, can I get a ride to the KFC?" Rather than point out to him that there was a McDonald's half a block away to get some change, instead the driver let him on, though warning him that there was a $75 fine if he got caught. Mr. Freeloader hopped on, saying that he would risk it. He then added that after lunch he was going to pick up his "EI" (Employment Insurance) cheque.

A woman, who clearly didn't know this guy, insisted that she would pay for him. There were no protestations of pride or self-respect on his part. What did come out of his mouth next was this, "I'm a child of God and this is a blessing. It's a sin to turn down a blessing, isn't it?!" I almost threw up.

The bus got rolling and Mr. EI-KFC got off about 6 blocks later. Oh, you may be interested to know that he about 25 years old and white.

Fast forward a few hours. At lunch, we were served by an Indian woman in her late 30's. We learned that though she was not born here, her 5 children were. In addition to this job waiting and cleaning tables, she also works part-time at the Post Office. Her husband builds townhouses in Burnaby and also runs a blueberry farm that they just bought in Ladner.

When people say that we should stop all immigration to Canada I just laugh and think, "Stop new immigrants from coming here?!? The vast majority of them are the ones setting the examples for the rest of us!!!"