Extracting a Living

My friend Jimmy was fond of saying when asked about his week,“I’m still extracting a living out of the ground.” 

Most days after my duty as a public school teacher, I’d meet up with him for coffee. He’d usually be waiting for me at our favorite watering hole, sorting through paperwork, his stack of business cards and cell phone nearby, always dressed to the nines in a sport coat, a fashionable tie and polished shoes. 

He was portly, jet black hair and the heir to a family retail business. Dubbed the Mayor of Broadway, he could be seen in the early years standing out front of his store greeting patrons as they came in.That was before the garment industry’s downturn in the later part of the 20th century and his store went south. 

Then in his 30’s, Jimmy did what he had to do, became creative, didn't mope about, but set out to make a living the best way he knew how. 

Being personable, all strangers being friends, and after stints in varying sales jobs, he settled on a career in real estate. “This one would be good for you and Cindy,” he’d say many days, scooting a colored photo of a recently-listed home across the table. “Or,this is a nice little fixer upper; just came on the market.”  

During his last years of life, Jimmy explained why since his Boy Scout days he’d been an ardent Republican. 

Despite having a journalism degree and schooled with many liberals and educated by them, his political preferences were due in-part to being raised in a small business environment. But, more so, he believed because once his family business didn’t make it, the GOP seemed to be a better fit for the person in his shoes. 

His creed was personal accountability, not one which endorsed  handouts. A creed he found more in-line with the Republican party.

As a democrat and teacher then, and getting a guaranteed monthly paycheck, having to metaphorically extract a living out of the ground was not something I contended with, or even thought about.

I had hubris and felt more enlightened than anyone who’d ever vote for anyone other than a democrat. I saw the bigger picture for all of humanity. The Republican focus was too narrow, caring only for the wealthy. 

Now, harkening back to those coffee-drinking days knowing the issues of today, Jimmy’s conservative stance seems practical and forthright; the bottom line, teaching someone to fish, keeping the country safe and the energy flowing. And believing the message of a politician is more important than the frothy words of the messenger. 

If Jimmy were here today, I'd take great joy in telling him I’d crossed over to his side. Being the ever inquisitive friend he’d no doubt ask, “Mike, when and why? Tell me more!”

I’d say, I’d tracked my awakening to several happenings. First: Hillary’s 2016 comment chastising Donald Trump’s supporters as “deplorable.” I’d share my aha moment, such as when Cindy and I were having additions to our old home, and I’d observed our builders, hammer-to-nail men, who’d bidded on jobs, braved the elements, their tool box their res vitalis, living work-a-day-week with no guarantees. And according to their PickUp bumper sticker, Trump supporters.

I'd mention to Jimmy that despite Trump's reputation as a one-time womanizer, he’d never been accused of infidelity when President and in the White House like JFK, LBJ and Clinton. 

I’d remind him, while Nixon and LBJ sent 58,000 American boys to Southeast Asia to die, Trump wants us out of international conflicts. While he pushed drone strikes, the Ukraine conflict and the present Israeli-Arab debacle didn’t occur on his watch.   

I’d say to Jimmy, while Trump had auspicious beginnings, he never made his living on the dole, like Biden with 50 years of glad-handing, or Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schummer, or the plethora of other bumptious ivy tower Washingtonians. 

Lastly, I’d thank Jimmy for lighting a candle Illuminating that feigned ideologies without a rudder won’t sustain a Republic.

There are a lot of Jimmys who are Trump supporters. It behooves those who consider themselves to be morally superior to the unwashed public to ask where their buttered bread comes from and reflect what it means to extract a living out of the ground.  

The Left, hooked on their harangue that Trump is an evil abomination, will unlikely reflect on their recent loss. Double-down artists in their camp have already started their attack: Who will be the President,Trump or Musk?

It is lonely for a crossover man in a blue dot county, where many vehemently wish the 47th president-elect dead, effusing they’d never hated one person so much. But I think of Jimmy. And smile. 

I can only believe he’d be celebratory about the outcome of the recent election. He might say, “Mike, it’s time for a road trip, let’s drive back for the inauguration. We deserve to see at least one in our lifetime.” 

This essay is dedicated to James A. Greenspon, 1949-2003. A consummate salesman, University of Missouri graduate, a True Friend. An honest man.