BOURDAIN's stunning love letter to Mexico and Mexicans

[Le Taz Hot]

109. As someone who worked herself to the bone

for 30 years (still working -- but not as fast) doing 2 and 3 jobs and going to school, I'm incredulous at all of the generalizations going on about American workers being lazy. My mother, grandmother and great-grandmother ALL worked the fields in 100+ degree heat picking whatever was in season. Yes, they were "okies" in California and Oklahoma and I never knew harder working people in my life. I've worked next to Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants and I KNOW I worked JUST as hard as they did. I literally worked myself into exhaustion more than once. Why? Because I wanted out of abject poverty -- it's a wonderful motivator. These generalizations make me very angry and resentful and for very good reason -- I have the bad health and arthritic hands to prove it.