Carlos
I can fix that …
I inherited Carlos when I bought the house next door. For five years I paid him to work there while the house was rented as I didn’t want him to be without work. The few times that I was in the house I noticed that it was in mint condition. Things changed and I told the tenants that I would need the house back. Carlos had lost his other job so I hired him for the rest of the week as the neighboring house is in need of some renovation.
Home is in Zaragoza, a two-hour bus ride from Antigua. For 25 years Carlos has been making that journey. The few times that he has been late he has sent me photos of an accident or other problem with the traffic. He works hard all day long and always with a smile. In Zaragoza he has a wife and three children whom he is working to educate. I tell people that he has an engineering brain and a 6th grade education. If something is not working he assesses it, decides what he needs, goes off to the hardware store, returns and fixes it. With a smile. The more complex the problem the bigger the smile.
Carlos is working with a neighbor who is making stained glass panels for some of the windows. The neighbor wants narrow strips of wood in order to secure the stained glass pieces. The local wood purveyor indicated that they could not cut them as narrow as requested. Carlos returned the next day with his own saw transported on the bus from Zaragoza and proceeded to cut the wood pieces to the desired width. He had previously asked my permission to cut the wood himself.
Carlos recently told me that his brother knows how to drive and he is teaching him how to drive. He asked me about prices of cars that would fit a family of five. I told him that he should look for an older Toyota or Honda, that he would need a good mechanic and that he should have a mechanic check the car before buying it. I pay him well and hope that might help him get himself a car which would cut his commute time in half.
As the house renovation proceeds we are creating a pile of items that are being replaced. Carlos has already put his name on three toilets, two large ceramic pots, one with a plant in it, two ceiling fans and some curtains. He is thrilled that he will be able to provide these things for his family. Eventually, he will have to hire a “flete” which is, usually, an ancient pickup truck available for hire behind the Antigua market to get his treasures to Zaragoza.
As the house is currently vacant I have told Carlos that he is welcome to spend a night or two in one of the bedrooms rather than do the commute. He has stayed a few times but mostly tells me, “I want to go see my family.” My sympathies to those of you who do not have a Carlos in your life.