Adam O. Yeater
Tucson, AZ

Adam Yeater was born a swamp rat in Ft. Myers, Florida. He moved throughout the continent of North America where he finally settled in Tucson, Arizona as a desert rat. His post apocalyptic cityscape paintings are shown in several Tucson area galleries. He has also published several independent comic books through his company, First Man Productions. All his other free time is spent with his wife and son.

Low Income Lifestyle

My grandfather was a plumber. My father still is a plumber. My dad used to take my brother and me to work with him when we were kids. Working with my dad, I realized real quick that he had to work hard with little respect just to support the family.

Many people think plumbers make a lot of money, which is not always the case. We had a few nights where our dinner was Corn Flakes with water. We had to constantly move because my father was always chasing work. We finally settled in Tucson, AZ when I was about fifteen years old. I integrated into the work force in this town. Nobody tells you in school that most jobs are very hard work for very little pay.

I have done it all, from working in fast food joints to telemarketing.

I have been screamed at by overrated, incompetent managers and dealt with backstabbing, lazy fellow employees, not to forget the hazardous work conditions. Most of the jobs were not all that bad. I was not the most productive employee at times, either. The worse thing about many of these jobs was the management. Most of the managers were not even qualified to run lemonade stands much less a real business.

I have seen it all! I’ve witnessed a supervisor throwing an empty box at the head of an employee. I’ve observed employees brought to tears by a sound berating by the boss. Let’s not forget injuries caused by moronic decisions.

After a while, you get used to it. I guess it’s like being in war. You start to get de-sensitized by seeing the blood, the exhaustion, and taking orders.

A common trend in the Arizona workplace is to hold your job over your head. I once had a boss tell me. “This is a right to work state. I can fire you for no reason at all.” This has stuck with me with every job since. It is scary to always wonder, “Will this be the day?”

I sometimes wonder if there is little hope for a high school graduate, from a low income background, in today’s modern day work force.

I finally did find a good job. I make a whopping $7.50 an hour but have a lot less headaches. Like my father I work in an industry where you sometimes have to deal with feces and urine. Maybe it’s a strong constitution or early exposure to this type of thing. Or maybe, my family is just destined to put up with a lot of other people’s crap.

THE END

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