A Question of Class

There was a time when Low Income did not mean Low Class, they were not one and the same, I know some rich people who are totally Low Class, gutter trash and I know some poor people who are Full of Class.

Class is not defined by your financial standing as money cannot buy class, which is like putting lip stick on a pig, it’s still a pig or in this case a low class gutter trash with money and no class. Class is defined in my book as how one sees one self, how one carries one self, it is manners and respect for your fellow man, it is an understanding of who you are and where you are going in life and how you intend to get there, this is not your old time European concept of class…

One of the classiest individual I knew was a gardener who worked for the family. The way he carried himself, the way he spoke, his outlook on life impressed me and I spent many hours talking to him as a boy, about his work and life in general. In all the years he worked for us, he was never late, he never turned up at the house dressed in his gardening cloths and he never leave the house in his gardening cloths, he had a sense of style that transcends time. He had great respect for himself, others and his profession. He was a proud gardener, a landscape engineer and what he did to our yard was pure art, how he managed to shape those unruly bushes with his clipper and machete was amazing to me.

His dedication to his work and how he relates to everyone earned him a lot of respect and trust from almost every house on the street, so much so, that as a result of his good reputation and goodwill he was hired by almost every house on the street and on a given day he would take care of the gardens of at least 3 houses per day. He would start early, moving from one house to the next, watching him work was a pleasure, a true artist at work, he would make a change to the garden, then step back and examine his work from many angles then return to make various adjustments as he snipped and clipped various edges, every cut done with a sense of purpose and at the end of the day he would clean up after himself leaving our yard in a state of pure perfection. He did brilliant work and was so admired by all that he was always remembered at Christmas time. He went on to create a business and hired some boys to help him service his customers because he had more work than he could handle by himself, everybody wanted him. Sadly he died and everyone on the street went to his funeral, he was missed by all and was a true gentleman.

We went on to hire some of the worst people to look after the yard, some stole from us and others had no pride in their work and themselves. Some would not even bother to show up on the agreed date or show up on time and would leave before the work was done. Their work left a lot to be desired, slam, bam, thank you ma'am pay me, one came to work but was found in another house having sex with the helper, in the bed of the people who hire the helper. They did not view what they were doing as a business, they had no love for gardening and I think actually hated it and the people who hired them, these people looked down on themselves and simply had no class.