Work defines us. It shapes our days, fills our hours, gives meaning to what we do and who we are.
For some, it’s a profession, a career, a calling. Others see a job as a necessity that allows them to do their most important work: raising a family, building a community, pitching in to help others.
This is the work that has built America. This Labor Day weekend, we pause to praise the American worker.
‘There Ain’t No Quit in Me’
Farrier Robb Hoffman thinks a lot about the state of America as he drives between commercial horse operations and backyard hobby farms throughout North Florida.
His “office” is a small, white pickup with a mobile workshop in the bed, filled with tools for trimming horses’ hooves and shaping horseshoes.
For job security and because he has five grandchildren, he hopes the next president will bring about “a good, strong economy and a strong border,” he told The Epoch Times. “That’s more conducive to business.”
Without those things, “the people start to suffer and they start to cut the fat. They start to do away with things they don’t need, like horses.”
Hoffman, 59, hopes the upcoming election will put someone in the White House who is “for the people, and for our country. They’re Americans first, and they’re politicians second.”
“I can tell you straight up, there’s been many a day that my wife and I have ate less, so our kids can eat more. And I think all families go through that.”
Horses’ hooves continuously grow and need to be trimmed and balanced about every 4-6 weeks. Some need shoes that must be customized for each hoof. Some need corrective or therapeutic shoeing in order to move freely and without pain.
Farrier Robb Hoffman finishes fitting a front shoe to a horse’s hoof in a stable in Alachua, Fla., on Aug. 20, 2024.
Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times
Hoffman went to farrier school out West to become certified in his craft. Then he apprenticed with pros near Ocala, Florida, said to be the horse capital of the world.
To make ends meet, he often works 12- to 16-hour days, sometimes six days a week. It’s the kind of bent-over work that makes a guy’s back, legs, and arms ache.
Between each horse, he rests a bit and takes a few sips of water he keeps in his truck.
“If you don’t like hard work, and working when it’s 105 degrees, or working when it’s pouring down rain and all your tools are getting wet, it’s just not a career somebody would want to pursue.”
So why do it?
It’s simple, he told The Epoch Times.
“I love horses, and I love people.
“Plus, my dad instilled in me a work ethic that, no matter what, you don’t give up.
“He used to tell me all the time, that there’s nothing more important in your life than your job … you always provide for your family. You feed your kids, you clothe your kids, and you take care of your kids and your wife.”
Hoffman has had “a lot of health issues and a lot of debilitating things”… “but I just don’t quit. There ain’t no quit in me.”
He works wearing therapeutic shoes and leg braces.
“I just don’t look at it like a disability. I just look at it like, this is the cross that I bear, and I’m gonna do everything I can to do everything that I do well.
And he doesn’t see his work as just providing foot care for horses.
“I’ve tried to use this as a ministry. Sometimes that has to deal with Christianity, and sometimes people just need to talk, to get things off their chest, like therapy.”
One client calls him a “farr-apist.” It’s a moniker he’d like to put on a hat some day.
The Value of Work
Darryl Burkett doesn’t fit the stereotype of a CEO. With his ball cap cocked back on his head, he contemplates the grease under his nails, takes a break from restocking his truck with plumbing supplies, and opines about why he’s proud of his work in Durant, Oklahoma.
Since 2009, he’s owned and operated KD Plumbing & Construction, LLC., a business that has grown to employ 14 people in a warehouse near the airport. He figures the keys to his entrepreneurial success are his dedication to his family and his community and an education that extends beyond classrooms and lectures. His most skilled instructor, he says, was his father.
Darryl Burkett, owner of KD Plumbing & Construction, leans against a toolbox in Durant, Okla., on Aug. 21, 2024.
Michael Clements/The Epoch Times
“My dad told me that if you learn how to do everything and you’re willing to do anything, you’ll always make a living. You make yourself valuable,” he told The Epoch Times.
Like most ranchers, tradesmen, and blue collar workers in this Southeast Oklahoma town, Burkett has amassed a variety of skills. He welds, fixes equipment, repairs plumbing, builds things, and operates all kinds of vehicles.
“There’s nothing that I’m scared to do.”
He played some baseball in college, then went to work at the Choctaw Casino & Resort-Durant. But realizing he “was not an inside guy,” he moved on to work with his father, who taught him valuable technical skills.
But more importantly, he said, his father taught him the value of work.
Eventually, he bought a truck, gathered his tools, and opened his own business. But it’s the work ethic, taught by his father, that has kept his company open and his family fed, he said.
“I like to work with my hands. I’ll get down in the hole like anyone else.
“I stand by my crew if I have to keep them late,” he said.
Burkett wants his children to take pride in their work and become skilled workers, no matter the field.
Blue collar workers, like those in Burkett’s crew, deserve respect for the essential services they provide.
Dougherty, a former cybersecurity specialist, now finds fulfillment in trimming trees.
Henson, a former banker, agrees that physically demanding work like tree trimming is more rewarding than office work.
Rivera, a cosmetologist, real estate agent, and server, sees every job as an opportunity for networking and building her businesses.
Despite the challenges she faces as a single mother, Rivera is determined to provide for her children without relying on government assistance.
She is optimistic about the upcoming snowbird season, when her real estate and cosmetology businesses will likely see an uptick in activity. She is confident that things will work out in the end.
Until then, she plans to secure another job.
Not Just a Job, But a Lifestyle
On a Saturday at Lake Gibson United Methodist Church near Lakeland, Errol Archibald is making sure the property is prepared for Sunday services.
He is the pastor of New Testament Christian Church, which uses the facility during the week. This arrangement requires him and his congregation to maintain the shared building and grounds.
After finishing his church duties, he will travel to Georgia to acquire chickens for his family’s farm.
During the drive, he will study the 105 questions he needs to answer correctly in three days to pass his electrical contractor licensing exam. He has already completed nearly $30,000 worth of work to rewire the shared church.
“This is a place of healing, God’s building,” he said. “It needed new lighting.” And the Methodist congregation needed assistance.
Assisting others is a way of life for Archibald, 42, who is always on the go.
“I don’t see this as ‘work.’ It’s my lifestyle,” he said.
Working hard and contributing is ingrained in his family history.
Archibald, a Marine veteran and father of three, was raised by immigrants from the British Virgin Islands. His father, who worked cutting sugar cane and picking oranges, always worked for himself.
Archibald initially took a different path, enlisting in the Marines immediately after high school.
While stationed in Washington state, he joined New Testament Christian Church and met his wife, Meron, in seminary. They now lead various church activities in Lakeland.
With his upcoming electrical contractor license, he plans to open his shop called Always Faithful, a nod to the U.S. Marine Corps motto “Semper Fi.”
He hopes to expand his outreach through his shop but faces challenges due to strict regulations on selling farm produce.
Despite the obstacles, he and his family give away a significant portion of their farm products to those in need.
Keane Grant, the manager of the Judiciary Square Metro station in Washington, also finds fulfillment in assisting people daily.
He enjoys interacting with customers from all over the world who pass through the nation’s capital.
Grant, who emigrated from Jamaica in the 1980s, never expected to have a career in public service but has worked in various roles in transportation for decades.
Dr. Eduardo “Ed” Balbona, an internal medicine specialist in Jacksonville, runs his own practice but faces challenges in maintaining independence in a corporate healthcare environment.
He believes that the current medical system prioritizes profit over patient care, leading to less personalized treatment and strained doctor-patient relationships.
Despite the difficulties, Balbona remains committed to putting his patients first and advocating for a more patient-centered healthcare model.
He refuses to give up that freedom.
His main goal as a doctor is to help people improve their health and quality of life.
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