“All happiness depends on courage and work.” ― Honoré de Balzac

              The Colorado River Tea Party hosted a successful, very informative Meet the Candidates Forum at the Martin Luther King center Thursday evening.  We are fortunate to have such a fine slate of candidates.

             My parents were of America’s “Greatest Generation.”  Their contributions to the nation were enormous.  I’m afraid my generation has been the generation that, through complacency, bought the nation to its knees.  I am heartened to see a new generation that has accepted civic responsibility, that realizes that we have a government of “we the people,” and that “we the people” have to step up to the plate.

              The candidates all made strong statements with regard to creating a council that is committed to working harmoniously with the mayor to promote a fiscally responsible government that is business friendly, transparent and committed to public safety.

            One query in the Q and A session piqued my interest, a question that diminished the respectability of a minimum wage job.  I have respect for my nephews who went to college and became doctors and engineers and nurses.  But I have even more respect for my nephews who were not above washing dishes and slinging pizza and eventually landing a minimum wage job at Lowes or Home Depot.

             They saved and invested their money and worked their way up the ladder of success to become store managers and district managers. Yuma has the highest unemployment rate in the country.  Let’s build an attitude of respect for work, respect for minimum wage jobs that are the ladder to success. 

     One season, my grandson successfully juggled three minimum wage jobs in order to make ends meet.  He made me so proud I burst the buttons in my shirt.  Well, in truth, that may have been as a result of massive weight gain, but I was proud as punch.

             We need to take Ashton Kutchner’s attitude to heart.  At the Teen Choice Award he said, “I’ve never had a job in my life that I was better than….washing dishes, sweeping cereal flakes off the factory floor….  Every job was a stepping stone to the next job….  Sexy is being smart, thoughtful and generous.  Everything else is crap.”