"I need work" - How it all started.

I have been in the residential remodeling industry for over twenty-five years and have been on my own since 1991.  Work has always been plentiful and there was a time when my work was lined up for 6 to 8 weeks.

Since the gas prices went up this spring, which made the cost of living raise, the real estate bubble losing its air and the bank bailout, this has all changed.  At first I thought, everything has a flow and sometimes it is just the natural way things work but then I realized, as we the little people suffer our representatives and the higher ups are doing just fine. 

What really bothered me was the causal reading of statistics.  “X” many people lost their houses today, “X” many peoples lost their jobs today.  They are just numbers to them.  Not men, women, not husbands, wives, not Fathers, and Mothers, not families, not seniors, just numbers.

I felt I had to do something.  I had to make a statement; so on the morning of my fortysixth birthday, I took My wife and five children to Hollywood Blvd. and I-95 southbound exit to make a political statement. I stood on the side of the road with a sign that said, "We don't need a bailout, I need work. 

It is sad that at the age of 46 I am unable to take care of my family because of all the corruption that goes on in Washington.  Our industries gone overseas, the problems with immigration, the gas prices, the real estate problems and now the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac drama - When will it end?
 
My family and I do not live in a big house; we do not have credit cards, no cable, just a Husband and Wife with their five children in a two bedroom one bath in Hollywood.  We live below or at our means yet with the economy the way it is the telephone stop ringing.  Not just for me but also for everyone I know.
 
Keep in mind as you read this, while I struggle to take care of my family the American International Group Inc., sent their executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort.  I guess committing white-collar crimes really makes some people tired and a well-deserved rest is in order.

Getting back to I-95, my wife and children were put in a safe area but in full view.  Most people were generous but I refused all money.  I would pass them my card and say I don't want a handout, all I want is an "Honest day's work.”  I wanted an opportunity to be part of the “American Dream” but it seems that it is becoming the “American Nightmare” for many.
 
I felt it to be very important to put a face, no seven faces, on the reality to what is happening to many families in America today.  I wanted to let people know this is affecting Joe America and his family.  To be perfectly frank with you, it is troublesome to think what my future and my family’s future will be, and what hard times lay ahead for our country.

Thirty-five minutes after standing on the side of I-95 the Hollywood Police pulled up and asked us to leave.  We complied and went home.  When we got home, I decided to email all my friends and share our day’s experience with them.

I outlined what happened and included the above photo with me holding my sign.  Life went on and we did not think much of what we did that day until I received an email a couple of weeks later from a reporter from the Miami Herald.  It seemed one of my friends on my email list works with the Herald and without me knowing, forwarded my email to the editor.  A reporter, Jennifer Mooney requested to do a story and video.  We agreed and of course, we cleaned the house as if it was Christmas and the relatives were on their way.

Overall, the interview went pretty well and my wife and I were happy with the way it was written.  We were told the article would be published the weekend before Election Day.  It turned out the article was moved up due to the magnitude of the election and on Tuesday 11 November I received a telephone call telling me the article will be on the front page of  Wednesday’s paper and online.  My wife and I was shocked that we made the front page.

I was fortunate to have a door install on that Wednesday so the day started out as usual, up at 6:30, paper work, breakfast with the family, load the truck, and off to work.  That day was anything but usual; since things have gotten bad my telephone rings for work every couple of weeks.  However, on this day, I got twenty calls before 10 Am.  Moreover, they did not stop until the next morning.  Seventy-five total plus several offers for Thanksgiving Dinner.

The outpouring of concern from strangers was very over whelming and heart warming.  It proved to both my wife and I that people do care and want to help.  We are not just numbers, we are Americans, and we are united.

By the end of the day, my cellular rang so much the battery died.  All I kept thinking was how am I going to take care of all these people.  It came to me; why not pass some of these leads on to tradesmen who are in the same situation as I am.  Being that I am only licensed in Broward County I have about 35 or so calls from Dade County.

So I went on the Joyce Kaufman show on 850AM that afternoon and explained the situation.  Joyce gave me a forum to be heard and allowed me to give out my contact information.

The next day my wife called each person to thank them and she made a list of where they live and what they need done.  We now had our work cut out for us.

I got home about 5:00 that night and my wife and I had planned to go over the results of her effort that day but at about 5:20 David Sutta from CBS4 News called to ask if he could do an interview.  I figured his request was for the next day but it was for 6:30 that same evening.  I agreed to the interview, much to my wife and family’s chagrin.  My wife and oldest son decided to clean the house that day, so the house was a mess and the younger children were all getting over being sick.

David and his cameraman came over about 6:35 and since we were still eating dinner, they decided to do the interview at the dinning room table.  Just like the Herald interview, my wife and I were pleased with the outcome.  I again was given a forum to maybe share some of the leads with other tradesmen with families that were in the same boat.


Since the report on Thursday night, my wife and I were able to share some of the leads with 3 men in Dade County and one in North Broward.  My wife also tried to help a wife and mother who had lost her job as a Paralegal. 

One of the people who had called me to offer me work, turned out to be a lawyer in Dade County and I requested that my wife give her a call to see if she could be of any assistance.  She told my wife she would forward the women’s information to a local Attorney Message Boards to see if any one was hiring.  My wife also forwarded the women’s information to our friend who is an Attorney in Orlando to see if they were hiring in their Miami office.
 
I realize there are no guarantees; I may not get work from any of these calls but the fact that people are reaching out to others should give us all hope.  If times do get harder and we stay united as a community we will weather the storm.  It is up to us, we can do this.

God Bless,

Joseph Cappelluzzo