It's a Team's Life
Street Corners where will we be?
While in Arizona this street corner caught my eye and after seeing him in the same place the next day with a line of cars waiting to order I decided I needed to pay him a visit.
He drives an older car with a homemade trailer and stove to keep his food warm. He has a few ice chests where he keeps his homemade salsa and condiments for his food cold in the heat. He sells street tacos, burritos and has a cooler full of pop for sale.
I was driving a rental car and so was easily able to pull over and park. As I walked up to his mobile establishment I was immediately impressed with how clean he kept everything and the smile on his face. I know the Arizona sun ages people but this was no young man and I have to guess he was a lot older than even me.
He smiled and said “Buenos Diaz” and then I got to try my amateur Spanish on him. This brought on a few chuckles and his English was a lot better than my Spanish. He though put up with my attempts and taught me a few new words about the food. What a great salesman as he asked what I wanted to order. I asked for cuatro (four, see I told you I know some Spanish) tacos and he laughed and gave me one extra and then said you have to try a burrito all on me. Well, I gave him a tip and the smile that lit up his face made my day.
Of course, the food was AWESOME and I was back in line the next day to practice my Spanish and order more food which included a burrito for me and Bob. It was really fun to sit back and watch his customer service as people stopped to buy his food. I have to wonder if his wife or another was as
What really impressed me about this man is his hard work, his smile, and his marketing skill. With his aged looks, I think he probably could sit on a street corner with a cardboard sign and people would hand him a lot of money but nope he is out in the heat working. During one of the really hot days, I saw that he put up a little awning to shade him from the direct sun but he was still working away.
Each day he loads up everything into his car and onto his trailer and I have not noticed any trash at all left in his little spot on the corner.
Each of us out in our trucks work in stressful conditions each day and we do it over and over. Our driving jobs are not the easiest but very few of us concentrate on negative as we travel the roads with aggressive drivers and do our utmost best to keep everyone around us safe. Like the vendor on the street corner, we go to work every day and we make our own way.
I have no idea of his history, nor do I care, he is one hard working man and someone is at home working just as hard as he is preparing all that he sells every day in the Arizona heat. I admire him and his tenacity to make a living in a very hostile environment.
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.