Immigrant work ethic

As I write, a 50-year-old Russian man is replacing the flap on the inside of my toilet tank. He and his wife spend their evenings fixing rental properties my father owns. They arrived less than a year ago from Russia and don't speak much English. I'm guessing they also work a normal eight-hour job in addition to the four or five hours put in every evening. Even though their skills are limited, he knows how to fix things and she can clean; they are going to do just fine here.

It's amazing that America is still the land of opportunity, despite rising health care costs and wages that are fighting a possibly losing battle with inflation.

My brother-in-law visited here from Malaysia a week ago, and we spoke about the work weeks in our countries. In Malaysia, as in many other Asian countries, it's customary for workers to spend every other Saturday working. That's white-color work, too, mind you. In Thailand, the work "ethic" includes having to always leave the office later than your boss--imagine that.

God bless America.