La Cosecha

I have a few minutes before work today, so I stopped by a quaint restaurant in 'downtown' Parksley called the Club Car because they have wireless and because I was in desperate need of caffeine. Yep, I drank coffee. I hope I don't have the anxiety attacks I used to have or that I don't start feeling that itchy feeling under my skin.

Anyway, this is finally the week where we are doing the pesticide trainings with the large grower for their new workers. We were expecting last week to be the busy week - i.e., when all of the workers came in - but after spending two days sitting around in the deserted packing house, we were told that THIS was the week. And man were they right. Sunday night, bus loads of crews came in from Florida. Monday morning, that old packing house once deserted was filled with a new air, with men and women ready to work, ready to settle in to another home that they'll only have for 5 months, ready (or at least hoping) to make $200 for spending 60 hours a week picking tomatoes.

The foodbank, consequentially, is also busy. There, I get to talk to the farmworkers a bit more. They tell me that they're lucky if they get that $200, but that's only one or two weeks during the harvest. They've also gotten checks for $27. For one week of work. To feed themselves, maybe a child, pay rent, gas, electricity. Wow. And they still find some way to be friendly, open and outgoing.

Well, it's time to head to work. I saw my first combine in action the other day. The picture here is one of the dozens of wheat fields around here and in the past week all of them have been harvested. Hence, the title of this entry: La Cosecha means The Harvest. The summer is finally started aaaaand we'll see what kind of fruit she bears.