when a front page headline hits your personal life

my friend "S" walked over to my desk today and said in spanish, "ya me voy." (I am leaving.) i know he has been struggling with his boss and workplace, so i figure he finally had had enough. the tone in his voice gave off a different sensibility than all the other previous times, he had talked about quitting, about leaving.

he was released from employment today because it had just been discovered that he is in the country illegally. i have worked with him for a long time, and this was new news to me. i understand logically why they had to let him go. i understand he is breaking the law by being in this country. they can't get work visas because of the stipulation that they have to have a special skillset and couldn't be hired for a job that any american could qualify for. here's my beef is that many of these latin americans work their tails off for lower wages that most americans would balk over and perform the tasks half-assed. my brain gets it, but my heart is agonizing over this loss. over his now being unemployed and having to go look for another job. he has expressed to me all along that he would move back to his home country and start his own business when the time was right. i guess the law forced his hand. he's one of the hardest working, most jovial men i've had the pleasure to work with. he's lived a simple life and sent the money home to his heavily impoverished country to a wife and three kids he hasn't seen in two years. the situation sucks right now for him. there is joy in my knowing and hoping he will now go back to his home country and make his vision a reality, even as he gets to see his boys grow in stature and maturity.

for this short term, i felt compelled to do something, but i didn't know what my parameters are. as my dad comically stated, "well, if he wasn't married, you could have married him. and that my dear is really the only thing you can do." the tears fell as i embraced "M" who was crying as she and "V" caught an early bus home.

or cook. so late next week, i am going to cook something for him because it's not illegal to feed someone who's hungry. as my dad said here, "it's feeding Christ when He's hungry." and that appeals to a higher authority than the physical law in my book. so reader, if you are in the bay area and would like to contribute some food (canned or the like) please contact me because "S" is not alone in his boat.