“Hello?” Ugh, dropped call.
“Hello?”
“Hey!” I hear the noise of wind in the truck cabin. Jesse is driving 244 miles east to pick up his mother and take her to the doctor. This is just 1 way Jesse keeps the last promise he made to his dying father, Jesus, 5 years ago: to take care of his mother and sister.
I ask Jesse, “What is your 1 inspiration and why?” Without hesitation his reply is, “My Dad, Jesus.”
Picture a 7-year-old Jesus, forced from his family and Mexican home. He is homeless and living on the streets. The only survival skills he possesses are his knowledge of the world to that moment, how he wants to be treated, and grit.
Jesus, the child, is resolute in forging his future in this world of uncertainty.
Now picture the 1930’s in Mexico:
The country is trying to recover from the Mexican Revolution. Jesus knows the terror of horseman riding into town and the townspeople running in fear. He knows the following day someone will be dead. Adding to the trepidation, the United States is deporting Mexican and Mexican-Americans to Mexico to alleviate the economic devastation of the Great Depression.
Jesus participates in the United States “Bracero Program”, officially known as the Mexican Farm Labor Program. The word bracero means ‘manual labor’ or ‘working with one’s arms’. Millions of Mexicans sign contracts from 1942 to 1964, making it the largest United States labor contract. While many rules are ignored, the Mexican and native workers suffer, and the growers benefit as a result. This program allows Jesus to work in the United States as cheap labor. The work isn’t not easy, but through a chance encounter he meets his future wife.
Jesus marries Odelia, a young woman from town, and his life is forever enriched with purpose and love. Jesus works hard in the agricultural fields to provide for his family. So, through Jesus’ hard and laborious work he not only provides the basics, but he gives beyond when he can.
Although Jesus never saw the inside of a school or had the privilege of an education, he encouraged his children to get an education. With his encouragement, compassion, and love his children went on to finish their college degrees.
Through actions and deeds, he taught his children how to live virtuously without regard to fame or riches:
• Made work fun by whistling and joking as he was watering fields, fixing fences, or running heavy farm equipment;
• Listening to children and encouraging parents to employ gentle discipline;
• Driving around with his little pug, Capitan, at his side they’d go to the post office. When the journey was over, they sit in the warm sun and Capitan would enjoy a Coronado brand wiener;
• In a work situation, one of his employers attempted to treat him as less of an employee and more of a thrall. Jesus quit his job and said: “As long as there’s a God, He will provide us with beans and tortillas and we’ll never starve.”
As Jesse talks about his father, his voice reflects pride and love as he remembers his father’s struggles. He knows that his father could have easily turned to gang life to gain a sense of family and stability. Instead his father chose to work hard and lived the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” He was courageous and stood firm for what he believed was right.
Jesse remembers his dad taught him to stand up and be firm when you believe you are right even when it isn’t popular and doing the right thing isn’t easy. Jesse said, “Whether he knew it or not, my father had leadership qualities and was committed to doing the right thing. He stood by his decision and his word. I entered public safety and, in my career, I took the life lessons my father imparted by being compassionate, standing by my decisions, and not passing judgement on others. It’s a job but it’s nothing personal. His lessons live on.”
There’s a brief silence and I hear the wind in the cab of the truck. Jesse clears his throat and slowly states:
“I always felt that he was with me even before he passed.”
Jesus, you live on as a legacy in the heart of your son. I am reminded of a beautiful passage “There is no death, daughter. People die only when we forget them,' my mother explained shortly before she left me. 'If you can remember me, I will be with you always.” - Isabel Allende, Eva Luna