Jobs Immigrants Won't Do

Planning a family road trip from Delaware to Texas this August, my wife and I were researching various cities and other attractions along the way we might want to check out with the kids. We've never been to Little Rock, Arkansas, for example, but then we read on one web sit that among the Top Ten things to see there was Murry's Dinner Theater (located at the corner of Asher and University in the K-Mart Shopping Center; dinner at 6, the show starts at 7:45.) So much for Little Rock.

Dollywood looks promising, both because I have faith that Dolly Parton ("You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!") would never lend her name to anything shoddy and also because, hey, I mean, it's Dollywood, fergawdsakes! Tickets are a bit pricey though, no doubt due to the high cost of living in in Pigeon Forge, TN, so we're still pondering that option.

My wife suggested a day or two in Memphis, which frankly surprised me. Neither of us are, to put it mildly, Elvis fans and a trip to Graceland based on its astronomically high kitsch/camp/cheese factor would be lost on the kids. While I'm sure Memphis (and, yes, even Little Rock) has many family attractions worth seeing, the only thing other than Elvis that comes to my mind is Beale Street which, like Bourbon Street in New Orleans, is best seen late at night and definitely without the kiddies.

Doing a bit of web surfing this morning, however, I did chance on at least one other Memphis attraction hitherto unknown to me. It seems Memphis is the first city in America to offer lawn mowing and other gardening services by bikini clad women! Actually, Tiger Time Lawn Care's Bikini Cut service appears to be in very good taste as this sort of thing goes.

But it struck me that this clever marketing stunt also belies the old canard about immigrants doing jobs like gardening that Americans won't do any longer. Judging from the company's photos, I deduce two conclusions. First, it is clear that these are jobs native born Americans definitely will still do if the price is right. Second, and I believe I am on very safe ground here, it is almost inconceivable that first generation Latina women would don bikinis to mow lawns for a living. Then again, something tells me that when their affluent grandchildren own their own suburban McMansions they won't let their husbands hire bikini clad Anglo gals to mow the lawn, either.