A couple of months ago, I made the acquaintance of two girls from China that had come over to work and travel here in the U.S. They were in a pretty bad spot because they were plunked down in Watson, LA, the community where I work. There is not much to do there and life is pretty much impossible without having your own vehicle. We have no public transportation and they were unable to go anywhere until they procured some bicycles at Walmart. It is about a 3 and 1/2 mile walk.

In addition, their work condition was not very good. Their boss at Church’s Chicken was quite harsh to them and the Turkish guys who lived with them. I am boycotting that particular establishment for life over this issue. They were not provided with enough work hours so they went to get a second job at McDonald’s. They worked around 70 hours a week each. Yesterday, their boss at Church’s had the temerity to state that they were not hard workers and she did not like them. Well, to hell with that. They are great people and work harder than that person ever will in her life.

I initially helped them because of the warmth and welcome that I had received in their homeland. Upon getting to know them, I came to believe they are outstanding people with good hearts. I wish that I had been more capable of helping them get established and see some of the sights that I am proud of in my home state. Alas, a couple of days ago, I bid one of them goodbye as she was leaving for New York City. Today, the other one left for Washington, D.C. and other parts. I wish them both well and happy journeys. Be safe. And if my countrymen run into Serena Chen from Hangzhou and Anna Jiang from Wenzhou, be kind to them and watch over them. Thank you.