[at-l] EVERYBODY: This land is your land . . .

[dfaddleton@mindspring.com (David)]

. . . Actually, a number of Toyotas are on the "American Made" list. And
many cars we would assume to be "American Made" are not. I have a friend
who, as a salesman, called on the automakers in Detroit. Chrysler called him
and his competition all from outside Michigan to Detroit to make a sales
pitch. Everyone of his competition showed up in rental cars. Only he thought
to rent a Chrysler. Guess who got the account?

You'd be surprised by the requirements an employer can, legally, place upon
employees and by what requirements some employees, especially the "white
collars" and the "professionals" will accept. The major requirements, of
course, are the when, where, and how you will execute your duties, major
items I'm giving up by taking up employment instead of running my own show.
I know some lawyers who regularly received calls to return to the office
from their family vacation, for example, for no reason other than that the
employer could do it. I asked for a leave without pay from an employer in
1999 after my 18-year marriage crumbled, so I could get my head together.
They refused to give it to me. So I took it any way and lost that part-time
position.

At this point in time, buying one, cheap "American made" car to drive on my
7.1 mile comute is one, very small compromise, among others, I'm willing to
make. Of course, this particular employer has some other attitudes which
attract me, and chief among them are its attitudes about the importance of
family and recreative vacations and holidays. I'm actually expecting to get
in more hiking working here than I have running my own show. I'm also
expecting regularly to arrive home in time to make supper for my two girls .
. . Why?

My resume carried a color picture of me and my two girls in Deep Gap, NC,
below Standing Indian, on the Appalachian Trail. Next to that, and above my
name, appeared the statement "A Daddy First, Then a Lawyer, With a Life."
This "nontraditional" resume caught their eye and they immediately
responded. I have not had anywhere near the same success with my more
"traditional" resumes. I've also directly discussed these values with my
prospective employer. I asked for and obtained their blessing to take a
planned 9-day hike Sept 1-9 with Pittsburg and crew to quit smoking, a mere
10 days after starting the job August 20th. To my mind, buying an "American
made" car is really a very small price to pay for these employer attitudes.
I have only one school year left before my oldest daughter turns 18.

> man.  what a job requirement.  Are you sure you want your employer
> telling you what car to drive ... how to live your life.   If I want to
> buy a toyota, because I feel it's the best value for the dollar, I will;
> by God.!!!