"Do I care that some Pakistani is showing me his cousin's social security card? No. And come on, the government knows what's going on. One person can't work in five different restaurants, making six figures as a busboy."

--Manager at a restaurant in Battery Park

........

I don't have any specific numbers on this, but I do know that most waiters--except for union people working in hotels--are not getting any sort of benefits. In fact, I think most are just happy if they are fairly paid by the owners since there's a great deal that goes on under the table.

It might not seem like a big deal, but lack of benefits, such as sick, leave means that many people in the food industry simply come to work sick--making food, serving food. I doubt any scientist has done a study on this, but I'm sure this had led to a number of food disease outbreaks.

Then there is the issue of missing medical care. I'm not a socialist or anything, but in a country as wealthy as America, can we not at least provide some basic medical care? The Brazilians seem to be able to handle it. Could we possibly be creating a small army of Typhoid Mary's because we are still under the delusion that everything in America has to be outsourced to the private sector?

Get real. For all you free market economists out there, plug this scenario into you models. A waiter comes down with the flu, but has no work benefits. Does he go to doctor? No.

He just passes the disease onto the customer, and then that person ends up in the doctor's office.

Here's a story about a waiter that was thankfully saved due to charity.

*****************

Ferry Accident Victim Update

Embarking on 'Second Chance' to Enjoy Life NEW YORK (AP) - November 29, 2003 - Having lost both legs in the Staten Island ferry Crash, Paul Esposito is determined to walk again on limbs programmed by computer to take him into his new life.

Since his above-the-knee amputations, the 24-year-old said, "other people who are also handicapped call me. I told one man who lost his legs and was at the end of his rope, 'Hey, there are always alternatives to the life you had. ... This is your second chance. Enjoy it."'

Esposito intends to do exactly that after surviving the Oct. 15 accident that took the lives of 10 people. Investigators have identified human error as the likely cause of the crash; a criminal probe is looking into whether the crew acted properly.

Minutes after the ferry crashed into a pier, Esposito was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital for surgery that saved his life. Since then, he has received medical care costing thousands of dollars a day.

His job as a Manhattan waiter did not provide health insurance, but his family is being spared the huge bills thanks to contributions from the public.

While additional aid applications are processed, the city's public advocate, Betsy Gottbaum, "is making sure that we don't have to come up with large sums of money," said Paul's father, Michael Esposito, a sergeant with the bridge and tunnel authority.

Next Thursday, the younger Esposito plans to move back into the Staten Island home he shared with his parents and siblings before the accident. His bedroom has been moved to the ground floor and the hallways enlarged so he can wheel himself around until he's fitted for the computerized prosthetic legs.

A New York-based firm, Arimed, will design his new legs, which will be linked to computer software that "reads" a user's movements, activating a response in the limbs. The artificial knees flex or stiffen according to need, switching when the leg is tapped and following a gait programmed for, say, walking up and down stairs or on rough outdoor terrain.

When Paul is fitted with the computerized legs in February, he'll have to return to the hospital for at least a month to learn to use them.

He got his first taste of family and home this week, on a six-hour hospital pass that allowed him to enjoy Thanksgiving at the home of his grandparents, Michael and Marie Esposito.

The last 20 of 200 staples have been removed from Esposito's amputated legs, putting his recovery ahead of schedule. But he has no illusions about the long, difficult road he faces.

Hours of daily therapy include exercises to strengthen his pelvis and thigh muscles, and to restore movement to a crushed middle finger.

A physical therapist straps a 3-1/2-pound weight onto the end of his right leg, and a somewhat lighter weight to his left, which is still sensitive from five operations. He lifts each about 10 times, then does sit-ups to strengthen his abdomen.

"That will help me stand up. But it's hard to get the lower body in shape when you don't have legs," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Esposito can now lift himself out of a wheelchair and slide onto regular chairs. Therapy includes moments of throbbing pain and muscle fatigue, Esposito said, "but I'm not going to give up."

He credits a tourist from Wales, nurse Kerry Griffiths, with saving his life in the moments after the ferry crash. She had tied a belt around his legs to stop the massive bleeding and gave him oxygen as he was passing out.

In the six weeks since, he's discovered much about himself.

"I had no idea I was this strong. Before, when I saw someone who lost their legs, I thought, I don't know how I would live," he said. "But once I got into that situation, I found out I was much stronger than I thought."

Much of his resilience is derived from the support of his father; his mother, Audrey-Jo; his brothers, Anthony and Michael; and sister, Michelle. Said his father: "He knows that he's not alone in this. No matter what, we're going to be there for him."

In his hospital room, Esposito has been busy sketching plans to further restructure their home for his new life. The Atlas Foundation and the Kiwanis Club have come forward to finance an architect and contractors.

Plans include converting the garage into a living room for Esposito, with an accessible bathroom and a special entrance that slopes toward the sidewalk, and the adjoining dining room converted into a bedroom. In the family kitchen, cabinets, counters and the sink will be rebuilt so Esposito can reach them.

His growing physical strength is fueling his dreams of going to college. He had been working as a waiter to save money for a business education, but the accident has inspired him to consider a different path.

"I'm debating on changing my major to interior design or architecture - maybe drawing up home plans for handicapped use."

And he can't wait to drive again.

His 3-year-old Honda Civic is up for sale. Esposito hopes that in about a year he will have his new dream car - "a Nissan Quest minivan that I will drive."
3:16:10 PM     comment []