An article about Italians "starting in the basement"

He comes from a farm full of stones in the south of Rome, Italy. As for when and how he arrived in America, I don't know. However, one night, I saw him standing in the driveway behind my garage. He is about five feet seven or eight inches, and he is very thin.

"I'll help you mow the grass," he said. His incoherent English is difficult to understand.

I asked his name. "Tony? Trevino, "he replied. "I'll help you mow the lawn." I told Tony I couldn't afford to hire a gardener.

"I'll help you mow the lawn," he added, and then walked away. I walked into the room and felt a little uncomfortable. Yes, the days of the Great Depression are hard at the moment, but how can I just send people who come to the door for help away?

When I came home from work the next night, the lawn had been mowed and the grass and sidewalk in the garden had been cleaned. I asked my wife what was going on.

"A man pushed the lawn mower out of the garage and started working in the yard," she said. "I thought you hired him."

I told her what happened the night before. We all want to know why he doesn't want money.

The next two days were so busy that I forgot about Tony. We are trying to reorganize and let some workers return to the factory. But on Friday, I went home a little early, and I saw Tony behind the garage again. I commend him for his work.

"I'll help you mow the lawn." He said.

I try to scrape together a little weekly salary, so Tony cleans the yard and does housework every day. My wife says that if there is anything heavy to be moved or repaired, he can always do it.

When I go to Qiu Lai in summer, there is a cool breeze. "Mr. Crowe, it's going to snow," Tony told me one night. "Winter is coming, and you asked me to sweep the snow in the factory."

So, what can you do about this persistence and expectation? Naturally, Tony got the job in the factory.

A few months passed. I asked the personnel department to send out a report. They say Tony is a very good worker.

One day, I saw Tony behind the garage where we met. "I want to be an apprentice." He said.

Our apprenticeship school for training workers is quite good. But I doubt whether Tony can learn to read drawings and use a micrometer, and whether he is qualified for precision machining. Still, how can I refuse him?

Tony accepted a pay cut and became an apprentice. A few months later, I received a report that he had graduated and became a skilled grinder. He learned to recognize a millionth of an inch on a micrometer. He can make grinding wheels with tools inlaid with diamonds. My wife and I are very happy, and feel that he finally has a satisfactory ending.

A year or two passed, and I saw Tony again in the place where he often waited for me. We talked about his work and I asked him what he wanted.

"Mr Crowe," he said, "I want to buy a house." On the edge of the town, he saw a shabby house for sale.

I visited a banker friend. "Do you only rely on personal loans to do this?" I asked. "No," he said. "We can't afford it. No way. "

"Oh, wait," I replied. "There is a person who works hard and has a good personality, which I can guarantee. He has a good job. At present, your open space may not get a penny for several years, and he will at least pay you interest. "

The banker reluctantly wrote a mortgage bill of $2,000 and gave Tony the house without asking for a down payment. Tony was ecstatic. Since then, it's really interesting, but whenever there are any odds and ends thrown away near my home-broken screens, hardware, packaging cardboard-Tony will collect them and take them home.

About two years later, I met Tony again in the old place where we met. He seems straighter, fatter and looks confident.

"Mr. Crowe, I sold the house!" He said proudly. "I made eight thousand dollars."

I was very surprised. "But Tony, where are you going to live without a house?"

Mr. Crowe, I bought a farm.

We sat down to chat. Tony told me that owning a farm was his dream. He likes tomatoes, peppers and all other vegetables that are very important in Italian cuisine. He brought his wife, son and daughter from Italy. He searched around the town and finally found a small piece of unwanted property, with a house and a shed. Now, he is moving his family to the farm.

After a while, on a Sunday afternoon, Tony came to my house dressed neatly. He was accompanied by an Italian. He told me that he persuaded his childhood friend to emigrate to America. Tony gave him a financial guarantee. Tony told me with a happy face that when they approached his small farm, his friend stopped in surprise and said, "Tony, you are a millionaire!" " "

Later, during the war, news reached our company and Tony died.

I asked the company to go to his house to see if everything was arranged properly. They found that the vegetables on his farm were green, the small house was comfortable and warm, and there was a tractor and a beautiful car in the yard. The children are all educated and have already worked. Tony didn't owe a penny before he died.

After Tony died, I thought more and more about his experience. His image is getting bigger and bigger in my heart. Finally, I think he is as tall and proud as the most outstanding industrialist in America.

They all succeed in the same way and with the same values and principles: foresight, persistence, self-control, optimism, self-esteem and, most importantly, integrity.

Tony didn't climb from the bottom of the ladder, he climbed from the basement. Tony's career is very small, and those outstanding industrialists have great careers. But in fact, their balance sheets are identical. The only difference is where you put the decimal point.

Tony? Treviso Sono came to America to seek the American dream. However, he didn't find it-he created the American dream for himself. All he had was a precious 24 hours a day, and he didn't waste a minute.