Oy, part 2

I have been working 4 jobs, but 2 of them were seasonal, and ended after Christmas, so I am not unused to working hard. I am however unused to working 10 hours a day, on my feet all day. Hence the whining.

But at the job, which is a food processing plant, I am surrounded by Filipino, Mexican and Thai women, and men I assume, though don't see as many. And if you have never worked with different cultures, you are missing out. Honestly. These women have so much fun and laugh all day long. ANd then, at lunch, in various groups, the pile the table full of all their food, and share and eat together. They have such an immense culture of community. And joy. And these people do these jobs 52 weeks a year, unlike me, who is only there for 12 weeks. They work their asses off every single day.

I grew up in the deep south, and now live in the Pacific northwest. In Seattle, there is a higher population of African Americans, but in  smaller towns, there are really very few. It is so white. Sooooooo white. I really want to move to the Am SouthWest, where there is a rich mix of culture. Here is how I am. When I see an older black woman, I want to run up and hug her, because it feel like home. I don;t do that, because I am just making the internal assumption that she is from the south, and that is a stereotype in and of itself. But I have on occasion has such wonderful conversations with black women who have lived it the south. We talk food. Southern, delicious soul food. Fried okra, real tomatoes, all the jillion type of field peas-black eye, field peas, lady peas, butter beans and butterpeas (these are not limas, but I like them, too) corn and tomatoes that are ripe in mid july. Biscuits and cornbread, and dear heavenly days, southern cornbread dressing at  Thanksgiving. Be still my heart.

I miss multi colored folk. And sleep. I miss that, too.