I Have a Face. WE Have a Face.

by Crystal Laramore Lutz

Edited by Deborah K. Martin

Thursday night I was in my restaurant behind my bar, craving some hot tea. In the middle of mindlessly opening the refrigerator and pouring the half and half in my tea (the way our forefathers always did), an overwhelming sense of belonging and comfort passed over me.

Here I am, in my very own business with two of my staff members on a slow, cold, Texas winter night; satisfying my whim for English-style tea, decorating the restaurant for Christmas and preparing to make the Christmas holidays merry for all who bless us with their patronage. And by their patronage I mean their greenbacks; their dough; their hard earned money; their cash, their time.

How blessed I am to be able to provide a warm, safe, welcoming atmosphere along with great food and drinks and how blessed “they” are to have it being offered; but how long will the blessings last? Obama and Pelosi and the SEIU and organized labor unions and the IRS and the likes are doing everything they can do to destroy our blessings. Or at least that is how it feels.

Most of you know I was in Baghdad, Iraq for almost two years working with the Department of State and serving my military (that’s right, I said “my” military.) When I finally arrived back on U.S. soil and “settled in” (as if…) I was walking through the restaurant one night in the dark and alone yet felt like I was hanging out with an old friend; it was that safe comfortable feeling. It’s the deep in your heart passionate love feeling that only comes through strife, conflict, blood, sweat, tears, fighting, making up, leaving, coming back, sharing, caring, putting 110% of yourself into it kind of feeling.

When you own a small business or work for a small business this is how you feel and if you don’t you should quit. Every day you put your heart and soul into it and quite frequently you get to see the fruits of your labor instantly. It’s not like a big, cold, steel building in a big city where you work your life away and never see any rewards except for your paycheck; yet people drive to work everyday with little internal reward or peace. They drive to work, I drive my country.

Just in case you don’t know who’s driving your country it’s me, and I have a face. It’s Tabitha Marsden and she has a face. It’s Austin Piwko and he has a face. It’s Rosa Corzine and Laura Kretzchmar and they have a face.

And when Obama speaks I’d like him to look us in the face. I’d like the man driving my country (into the ground) to look at me when he’s talking to me. Instead it’s like watching a tennis match Paula said. Oh and she, Paula Harper, has a face. Maybe he doesn’t look directly into the camera for fear he might see our hearts…breaking. Maybe he knows that we know that he’s a sell-out.

I heard him say that small business owners have learned how to get more from their employees. Well, of course. Isn’t increased productivity a good thing? Isn’t finding better ways to do business a good thing? I guess not because he says they (the small business owners) only did it to wring more profits from their businesses at the expense of their employees. I’m confused and more than a little insulted by that remark.

There is little profit in this small restaurant. We have a LOT of love, a lot of great atmosphere and a load of hospitality. We have a great time here while we work really hard, but there’s not a lot of profit. No, most of that goes right back into the business, which consists of real-live people, to make it better. We make our contribution to the community in a few reliable jobs, a lot of donations and some really good food. We even hold fundraisers here on a regular basis because we actually care about our community. Will it add to our profits? Not likely. But it adds to our hearts.

I wonder what may happen as our country changes. Will I be able to stay in business if I’m forced to raise wages? No, that will only force me to cut jobs. Will I be more profitable when I am forced to buy all my employees insurance? Don’t get me wrong. If I could I would. But if faced with being jobless or insurance-less I bet my employees would rather have a regular paycheck than socialized insurance. Just ask them.

And I often wonder which one of my employees do I let go when the taxes are too much of a burden? Paula; with 4 children to support and no college education? Austin; a college student trying to live on his own? Tabathia; a foster child and college student trying to save enough money to let go of the “System”? Rosa; a foster child in high school trying to save money for a car so she is ready when the time comes to let go of the “System”? Renee; my cleaning woman? Laura; my bartender who is going back to college as an adult to get a teaching certificate and barely making ends meet? You tell me.

Our business is small. Our hearts are big. Our faith is strong. We are the face of small business. We are the ones keeping your community vibrant. I am the owner and they are my employees who always know your name; the ones who asks “How’s yer mama’en them doin’?” Because we care.

I have a face. WE have a face.