Describe that sinking feeling when you show up for work and there is a 5-foot-11 Russian doing your job. More, he has a Smolensk degree in shoemaking and 23 years experience, plus all his own hand tools. Not to mention he is a registered orthopedic craftsman in Pennsylvania (whose standards supersede anything in Florida).
It is a good thing I don’t spook easy. When it comes to shoemaking, I cannot begin to compete with Boris. Let’s take a closer peek at the situation. Boris does not speak a word of Spanish. He knows only shoes, not the well-paying leatherwork that Alfredo does while I am keeping up (or trying to keep up) with heels and soles. Boris is also used to higher wages and benefits than he will ever receive in Florida, meaning a flight risk.Nonetheless, this denotes the shop is receptive to applications, that Alfredo wants more than I can provide. Not that I did not already know. Mind you, in my favor is a ton of management experience. Boris must have been a line worker (careful here, he could easily switch over). His lack of Spanish is serious, for even answering the phone is an integral requirement, along with the reasoning abilities or the vocabulary needed to fix custom leather. Boris balked at this several times, can’t blame him.
These are uncertain times. My guess is that I am still reasonably secure if only because I am not that easily replaced. Recall that the average employee (so I’ve been told) lasts only a few weeks. I’ll still be looking for a new job, starting tomorrow. What I really need is another thrift store within biking distance. Meanwhile, it was a good thing I invested in my music gear, isn’t it? That will be the only certain money I make this week. Now I regret I didn’t spend my $100 profit last month on that drum box.
[Author's note 2016-03-09: in the end, experience took over and Boris stayed on many years. I still drop in to visit years later.]
On the other side, the Russian speaks excellent English. He is married and his wife talked him into quitting their jobs in Pennsylvania because of the cold weather, and move to Florida. That, people, is always a mistake. Read my lips, there are no well-paying jobs in this state and for all the others, you must speak Spanish. Boris informs me that while there are several orthopedic shoe outfits in south Florida, none of them do the work in-house. The shoes, averaging $800 a job, are shipped up north, where he was a technician. Kind of makes you wonder why he wants to work for somebody else.
He personally knows the Russian guy who started Google. He talks about how he was investigated by the KGB when he applied to leave Russia in 1986. He speaks four languages. He quickly found out I was not unknowledgeable about Russia, and said more than once it was “scary” how much I knew. If he sticks around, I will soon know the correct way to pronounce Tupolev, Antonov, Mikoyan-Guroyev, Yakovlev, and Sukhoi.
We delved into economics and he confirms my thoughts. The American system is not perfect, but it is by far the best in the world. It is too bad 90% of our inhabitants are uneducated louts doing their best to dismantle it. Unless we become the first nation in the world to outlaw politics, we are doomed. To anyone who says politics is leadership, you don’t know what you are talking about. To those who say we need leadership, just two hundred years ago it was believed that nations could not even exist without a King, so again, you don’t know what you are talking about.
The only comic relief for today was things I had to explain to Boris. He is plainly used to a much larger and better organized establishment. I’ve already chortled at how we have 400 pound machines to punch in a ¼” nail and I have nothing to compare since these are the first shoemaking machines I’ve ever used. Boris, on the other hand, was staggered by the age of the equipment. He says he used to complain about anything more than 20 years old. Ha, Boris, welcome to Broward.
I’ve been at the shoe shop for some ten months now, all the money has gone into this place without a word of thanks. At this point, I should remind us of some early observations. First, the shop is really too small for three people, and the owner knows that. Second, there are two of everything except the large grinding machine, that is, enough equipment to easily set up a second location. Nothing would surprise me.
Aside from all that, Boris and I had a discussion about the end of the empire. While I’m shy on politics and harsh on politicians, I see that the French and English press are just as sick in the head as the Americans. When the Gorbachev’s visited, what did the reporters focus on? Disarmament? Nuclear test bans? Nope, all they had on their disgusting minds was what Raisa [Mrs. Gorbachev] was wearing. Did she convey the right “tone” when she went shopping? And you wonder why the world thinks we are a gang of useless bastards. For the most part, we are.
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