Ricky

I went to the market for some manzano banana tonight.  I came home with tears in my eyes and a happy heart.

It was a surprise when someone put his arm around me as I was looking at the tortilla chips at Superior Supermarket ( a Latino market, one of the only two places I know that sell this particular banana).  I looked at the other end of the arm and there was Ricky with a big smile on his face, happy to see me.  We hugged and kissed as his wife smiled behind him.  I hugged and kissed her, too,  after Ricky let me go,  and we chatted and caught up with each other right there.

Ricky was one of my go-to guys when I was running Flo Baron Collection in Pacoima, CA.  He was this guy with a big heart, an easy smile and a generous nature.  He was so nice that the production manager used to have Ricky pick him up and drop him off to the train station everyday.  Of course, I did not know about this until after I fired that manager for faking production reports.

Ricky had been with Flo Baron for at least ten years when I came on board on 1999.   He drove the forklift and did a lot of other errands including delivering materials for the various processes that the metal product had to go through.  Ricky was this happy-go-lucky single guy who took care of his parents and siblings and imbibed generously on weekends.

Flo set up a 401K for employees up until before I was hired.  The company contributed 100% to the funds..  I was the program administrator and made sure that when people left, they got their share of what the company had given them through the program.  You see, the factory workers were mostly Latinos who did not make a lot of money.  When they got laid off or fired or leave for other reasons,  they did not have a lot of resources.  The 401K money, even after taxes were deducted, was big help.

Ricky heard that some people who left got a big chunk from their 401K and he asked me how much his was at that time.  Since he was one of Flo's favorites, Flo had put in more for him.  When I checked his account, he had around $35,000.00 and he was 100% vested.  He wanted to get the money, but I told him he could not. He asked how he could get hold of it and I had to tell him only if he leaves the company.

A couple of weeks after that conversation, he resigned and asked me to withdraw his 401K.  I could not dissuade him from leaving and from cashing in.

Within weeks, he received a check for over $25,000.  He gave generously to his siblings and went back to Mexico to give some to his mother.  Most of his money, he told me later, were spent on drinking with new and old friends who got wind of the news that he came home with loads of money.

He came back to LA after about a month, broke and sober and wanting his old job.  Flo and  I decided we needed him so we hired him again.  He became interested in one of the ladies in factory and was later on dating her.  I joked with him about her coming in too late in his life.  He had wasted his money and although I made sure that he and the other key people got paid better, that $25,000 could have made their lives a lot more comfortable.

There was a noticeable change in Ricky after he had a girlfriend.  Although he was still that smiling-hardworking guy we knew, he did not drink on weekends anymore.  She was having a good influence on him.  Within a few months, Flo and I attended their wedding.

Ricky had also become a welder in the factory and was more than ever, a key employee - because of his hard work and reliability.  However, pressure from work, years of drinking,  and being torn between his new wife and his family (who were his main beneficiaries when he was still single,) had caught up with him.  He was diagnosed with high blood pressure.  He was not doing well physically and I found out later that he was not taking his medication because he did not have enough money. I told him then that couldn't be and made sure he had his prescription filled and that he took care of himself.

At that time, however, business was doing poorly.  Our biggest client that used to give us between $7M and $8M in annual sales had discovered China and pretty soon, pulled out their business from us. Although we still had other clients, they were much smaller.  Flo was also at that time, being pursued by a couple of men who wanted to "buy" the company from her.  With business in a nose-dive, Flo though these men would be the company's salvation.  She had them take over the business although the terms she agreed to were beneficial only to them, not to her, and not to the workers.  They retained me and had me oversee selling off and disposal of the inventory, closing of the  factory and moving and setting up a different operation, but I was very sad because I laid off a lot of people, including Ricky and his wife.

I found myself weeping on my last day in the factory.  I looked at the 40,000 square feet of empty space and my heart ached.  I cried for Flo who had built the business from scratch.  I cried for the people who lost their livelihood. I cried for the times that now just belonged in my memory.

The new owners eventually closed the "new" Flo Baron Designs and I was laid off too.  That was 2004.  A lot of things have taken place since them.  Life went on, but I have always wondered about the factory workers.....

And tonight, there was Ricky and his wife (I couldn't remember her name!).  They told me they are doing good.  Both of them are working. No children, but happy together.  Ricky is working as a welder - a skill we   insisted he had to learn.  Before we parted, Ricky told me he loved me.  He told me he remembers all the kindness I showed him and the other factory workers, and he thanked me.  We hugged and kissed one more time and then we said goodbye.

I had a big smile on my face as I weighed my banana (- after all, that was why I was there).  There was a different kind of happiness in me - and a hint of validation.  I got my fruit and went through the register in flash..

It started to rain again when I got out of the supermarket.  I did not mind; tears were falling from my eyes, too,  as I walked back to my car.

My heart was full, although in melancholic way.  After all these years, what Ricky remembers is kindness shown to him.  What I remember is the affection they returned to me and the warmth I now feel in my heart.