This is an iHeart Podcast. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
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Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off-site-wide at washablefas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washable sofas.com.
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And we're back with our American stories. Up next, We have a classic American story. A classic immigrant story. Aaron Marquez was born in a small town in northern Mexico. Ohinaga.
Here's Aaron. to tell us his story. My dad worked in the United States. most of my childhood. And mom had two jobs.
She'll work in a local factory sewing Levi's. Mom worked there in the morning and she'll come and pick us up from school. And fed us and then went back to work and worked in double shift and she did that for as long as I could remember. And my grandmother would come and babysit us until mom got back from work, and that's what she did every day. Probably not.
My mom was such an incredible figure for us and it was very motivating to me. to see my mom work two jobs and and have four kids and I mean it was very it was very difficult. And I would always tell her, I said, Mom, You know, when I grow up, you're not gonna have to work, mom. you're not gonna have to work, I promise you that. And my mom would always just grab my cheek and And she's like, I know you will.
I said, but there's nothing wrong with working hard, is she would always tell me. There's nothing wrong with working hard. But whenever you see your parents do that, the stuff that they sacrifice, it makes you appreciate. the little things in life. you know, that kind of shape the way you look at things.
We we all had a conversation as a family and they decided to to move to the United States. It was never explained to me like a level of opportunity. It was more of us being together because dad missed out on so much. And When I was in the second or third grade, that's when all the conversations began. And Honestly, that's something that I didn't want.
But we never traveled anywhere. We never went to camp. We never did anything. We literally just were just there, went to school. Summertime was no different because mom worked every day, and dad was in the United States working.
So I didn't know any better. But what I knew is that I was comfortable. Where we were. I didn't know anything. I know I went to school, we played soccer, we played basketball, baseball.
The only thing that I did not like is mom having multiple jobs. Even back then, I resonated with that.
So, whenever dad was and mom were talking about moving to the US and things like that, I was like. I asked mom, I said, were you going to have to have two jobs? Are you going to have to have two jobs, mom? And she's like, no, no. Um So it took a while for us to even get a some type of correspondence back from The immigration saying that we reviewed your application and everything.
So we're finally able to get a temporary. visa to come to the US. We moved to the US when I was 11.
So we moved in with my aunt and uncle. It was six of us, and we were sharing basically a room and a half. in this house and we came in into Odessa, Texas. We were there two days and we left to Cayanosa, which is a town that Everyone picks onions and And that's how they get paid. They pick you up at 3 o'clock in the morning and they would charge us to pick us up and bring us back.
You work there till about 7 p.m. at night. And You do it every day. It doesn't matter whether it's Monday, Sunday, you do that every day. We work twelve, fourteen hours and you You're exhausted because the heat's so bad.
I mean it's 110, 112 degrees. Constant on your back.
So my dad was able to find one of those pop-up trailers, the small ones. That's where we lived in the summer. My mom and dad and my brother. That's what we worked out of, and you know, my aunt and uncle would take care of my sisters during the week, and we'll go in there in and out. But we worked all summer picking onions, you know, as an 11th 11 year old um I kind of had different ideas of what I would be doing with my time.
But we needed to do that in order for us to save money to buy a house. Every time that we would do that, I would think of my mom. Leave in the house early and then coming and feeding us, then going back to work. And that motivated me more than, like, okay, if mom did this, I'm going to do it, and I'm going to be good at it. And so We picked um Onion sauce summer.
The back of my neck was peeling so bad, it was terrible because it gets so hot in the summer, 110 degrees. I can eat onions. I can even look at onions right now, so you can imagine. Just because of the smell. And I'm I'm pretty fair skinned so I would peel so bad and I remember just telling mom and dad and I said I've I don't want to do this again, but I'm going to work hard where we don't have to do this.
We left on a Saturday and school started on Monday. And they gave us, you know, a hundred dollars to go. buy some back to school clothes. which I thought it was great. And I remember seeing the first pair of Polar boots.
I was like, oh man, he's like, I want those, and I asked how much they were. They were like $140 something dollars. I was like, geez, I got $100. There's nothing I can even get close to that. that I was like, I'm gonna work hard to get those.
I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to go look at them. I was like, maybe they're on sale or something. I wanted those boots.
So we go get wrapped off at the mall in Odessa. And I go to Dillard's and I One Put boots on leuway. That's the first time I ever heard of the term leiway, but yeah, if you give me $100. You still owe $45 and you have 60 days to get them out of there.
So I went back and met my brother at the food court and my brother asked me, hey, where's your... Where's your stuff? I said My brother's name's Freddie. I said, Freddie, I'm. I actually put the boots on their way.
I'm gonna come get them out. Oh man, my mom and dad are gonna really gonna be upset with you. And we walked over to the food court. My brother had money to buy me. A hot dog or something, I don't know what it was.
So I walked out of the store with nothing, and my brother had all his clothes to go back. to school and and I did it. And looking back, I would do it the same way because I didn't want to settle. I'm going to come back and figure out how I'm going to make another $45 because I know I couldn't ask my parents for it. I don't know how to get this.
But I bought a cheap lawnmower. And I started mowing yards. around the neighborhood asking people and it was difficult at first because I did not speak English.
So I'll knock on the door and if somebody that didn't speak English answer the door, I just pointed out my lawnmower and said, Ten dollars.
Some of the people were so nice. It was like, okay. And then when I'll go charge, they'll come and point at me where are all the different spots that I left. That didn't look good.
So I had to go back and remow some of the yards and everything, but they were all very, very kind. But I've quickly realized that that wasn't I wasn't very good at it. I didn't want to be good at it. That was the point. I was like, I don't want to be a good grassmower, because then I'm going to like it.
No, honestly, I was just, I was trying to be quick and I would always just leave strips of grass and my lawnmower too. I'm going to blame it more on the lawnmower than me. My lava was not very good. and I didn't have a bag on it.
So the grass that I mowed just kind of ended up Like right where I cut.
So that didn't give me the right visibility of realizing if I missed a spot because there's grass kind of going everywhere. That's my excuse man, I'm sticking to it And I was able to get. My polo boots out in a couple weeks, and I was very pleased with what I did. I was like, okay, I've figured out. what needed to be done.
to do this.
So it was very humbling trying to look back and see what I can do. you know, to make money and especially with the language barriers. And we've been listening to Aaron Marquez tell his story, a classic American dreamer's story. And we love sharing these stories with you all year long. He was looking for his independence.
He was looking for his freedom and still today that memory and that feeling burns deeply in any immigrant who's come here from anywhere, be it Africa or Asia, the Middle East like my family, or Italy like my mother's side of the family. When we come back, more of Aaron Marquez's story on our American stories. When you're a pro, you need a project partner who delivers results. Ferguson Home understands that selection and availability are critical to transforming visions into realities. That's why they offer the best selection of home improvement products, spanning the latest trends, traditional styles, unique finishes, and smart technologies.
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Visit your local Ferguson Home showroom or go to FergusonHome.com to discover kitchen, bath, and lighting solutions that set your projects apart. Ferguson Home, where it all comes together. Explore top brands like Kohler at FergusonHome.com or visit your local showroom. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off-site-wide at washablefas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop now at washable sofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. If you eat too many ultra-processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes, and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try This from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn, I host Try This.
Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Follow Try This Right Now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it. You don't need a thousand dollars to buy Bitcoin. You just need a plan.
Kraken lets you set up recurring buys so you can build your position over time. Invest on your schedule, not the markets. Set it and forget it. Kraken handles the rest. Download Kraken.
Get $10 in Bitcoin after your first trade of $10 or more. Just enter code iHeart10 under Add Invite Code when you sign up. Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss and is offered to U.S. customers through Payword Interactive Inc.
terms and conditions apply. To Aina. We all know that water is life. An average American household consumes over 300 gallons daily. 40% of Navajo families residing on a reservation the size of West Virginia struggle to survive on less than 10 gallons of water per day.
Yearly St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School delivers over 1.5 million gallons of clean water to these families. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. And we're back with our American Stories and Aaron Marquez's story.
When he was 11 years old, Aaron's family immigrated from Mexico. and he spent his summers picking onions. in the hot Texas heat. Let's pick up with Aaron as he enters the American school system. I remember Going to school on the first day.
I remember they'd taken me to um to class for the first time. And everybody in there only spoke Spanish. The teacher spoke Spanish, the books that I received They were written in Spanish. We didn't go to P with the rest of the school. Our lunchtime was different.
I mean, it was just It was very isolated and I didn't like that. I told the teacher, I said, hey, I want to be in a regular class. One, because I want to play soccer, like in two. I I speak Spanish, I read Spanish, I I want to learn to speak English. I want to do everything in English and I'm not going to learn, no offense, but I'm not going to learn how to speak English.
when you're teaching me everything in Spanish. In Everything that I'm reading is in Spanish.
So This is um This is not going to work for me. And she told me, I remember vividly, she said. This is your first day. This is your first day, so I don't know how you're drawing those conclusions, and this is not. It's not for you to decide, it's for your parents to decide.
And I just politely asked, I said, well, How different is this going to be tomorrow? And the next day. I got back to their house around seven. It was the bus travel was brutal because we changed buses three different times to go. To the north side, to the from the north side of Odessa to the south side of Odessa.
And I told mom, I said, mom, I can't do this. I'm not going to learn to speak English. with you know in this ASL class. I said, you need to put me in the regular classes. That's what I prefer and that's what I want.
Mom's like if that's what you want, that's what we'll do. Mom went over there and put them in regular classes, and that's when life began for me.
So I remember going to class for the first time and Really? We're not knowing much at all other than how to say my name and I loved it. I loved it. I was never embarrassed of not speaking English. I would tell all my cousins, all my friends, and Everyone, hey, talk to me only in English.
I don't want you to talk to me in Spanish. Talk to me only in English. That's what I would tell them. And that's what I was able. able to learn to speak English.
quickly compared to anyone else because everyone was speaking to me in in English and that's the way you have to do it. I remember being picked on for, I was reading. out of the book. It was my turn to read it. in class and I pronounced the word Iceland instead of island.
Yeah, everyone started laughing. Then one of the kids next to me And we want to break, he's like, Iceland, he kept calling me Iceland. And he was laughing at me for not speaking English. And I was like, I told him, I said, man, you're laughing at me. Because I can't speak English.
But I'm learning to speak two languages. I said, I speak Spanish and I'm learning to speak. English. As I'm gonna learn to speak English, in the next three or four months. I said and you still only be able to speak one.
I said, imagine if you try to read Spanish. Imagine if you try to speak Spanish. I said, so I don't understand. I think that the joke's on you, that you're making fun of me for trying to learn to speak too. two languages when you're speaking wiki when you can only speak one.
I'm not gonna make fun of you for that. And that changed everything. He never said anything again and no one else did. And no one laughed. I remember no one laughed.
Everyone kind of just processed that. They're like, that's so true. And I think he felt bad with my answer, and I wasn't trying to be, you know. kind of sending it out but you know, I just kind of snapped at that with that answer, and it's just literally what rolled out of the tip of my tongue. My At an uncle's Like they would use me in the summertime to go interview with them.
You know, I remember my uncle. had a job interview. And he came and picked me up and said, Hey, I want you to go to this interview with me 'cause they don't I don't speak English. And I was like, okay.
So he picked me up and we went over there and And he just taps me on the shoulder and I'm like, okay, this is my uncle. He has an interview today at 9:30 or 10 o'clock or whatever, and he's like, Okay. And who are you? I said, Well, that's my. I'm his nephew.
And he's like, okay, does your uncle speak English? I'm like, no, ma'am. And my English was not very good back then either. And I went in there at the job interview with him, and they were asking him. You know, what he he was an insulator.
insulating pipe and everything and he's He was telling him, like, I'll tell him that I've been doing this for 10 years and tell him. Tell them that I can do this and this, and there's some words that I know how to translate.
So I didn't really have anyone that was really successful. in the immediate family that that I knew. at all. If everyone kinda worked then And did what they could to provide for their family, but no one was. No one ever mentioned college, no one ever mentioned Starting their own businesses, no one mentioned anything.
But whenever I graduated, High school, I started working for refinery, Punchman Polymers. and then going to school. At night at a restaurant college.
So I will leave at 8 o'clock or 6 o'clock in the morning, come back at 6:45, and then class will start at 7:30. and finish at 10.30 Monday through Thursday.
So I wanted to do that just so I can at least save some money and then look at a four-year school. Do that for a year. working in the plan as a labor cleaning tanks and being inside of tanks and Very, very dirty type job. Within six months, I worked for a company called J Merit. there at that Huntsman Refinery.
And I got promoted as a leadman and I was making $18, $19 an hour as an 18-year-old, which at that point was more than what my dad was making.
So I had my group of eight. Men that I led, and they'll assign us different projects, you know, cleaning tanks, cleaning. Just the dirtiest jobs that you could. But at that point, I was no longer. I was no longer doing it physically.
I was just leading. My team As a leaderman, It was great. Every job that they'll give us, you know, they'll give you a A job order, and they said, Aaron, here's your job order for your team, and you get five hours to finish it. And then here's another one, you get four hours to finish it. I focused on doing it faster, safer.
cleaner than any other lead men. I always try to find a way that would that we can do things that show that, hey, I'm going above and beyond what's expected. And we finished some of those jobs that were Supposed to take a week, we'll finish it in a day and a half. And people started taking notice of that. And within A year, I got promoted again, and what was great is that the people where I was getting promoted, they were very receptive.
They're like, Hey, you want more out of life than this? And I was a young kid, man. leading these guys have been there a while. and I earned their respect because I always I always worked hard and smart and But I was doing that also. Going through school, going to school at night.
And they'll see me at lunch when everybody will eat lunch and talk and play dominoes in the break room. I would be in there with my book wide open doing homework because that's the only time that I had.
So they would see they would see that And I would mean I was taking 18 hours of school.
So it was very it was difficult to do that, but nothing worth having is easy. and it was important for me to get a degree. And he did for MUCON, the University of Connecticut. He then went on to work at the energy company Neighbors. getting six promotions in five years.
I received a $22,000, $23,000 bonus. My first year And What I did was, I paid for everyone in my family to become American citizens. I never seen that much money made out to my name. On one check, I was like, wow, this is amazing that you can get this much money. There's nothing that I wanted more than have the security of my mom and dad, and my brothers and sisters.
to be American citizens. I think the United States of America is the greatest country in the world. because it's the only country that as an immigrant You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to. It's a blessing to be an American citizen. And I held that paramount among anything else.
And That's probably the best gift that I could have given my parents, everyone in my family. And Uh to date. That's something that I'm the most proud of is being able to Make sure that my parents and everyone in my family, all of us are American citizens. You know, to me, whenever you hear like the Star Spangled Banner or Macy and Grace, those two songs, no matter what, where I am, what I'm doing, if I hear those two songs, I just automatically want to cry, you know, and It just the flag means so much to me and as an American and and everything so for the first time hearing that and your ceremony and They're playing that among groups of so many different people. from a different background.
It's a I remember just looking around and everyone in our family we just had tears coming down their eye. Because we felt that Man, we're We're American citizens. How cool is that? And a great job on the production and storytelling and editing by Alex Cortez and Robbie Davis. And a special thanks to Aaron Marquez for sharing his story, starting picking onions in West Texas.
under 100 degree heat. And then making his way through oil patch work and hustling and working hard and hustling some more. And when he says at the end, when I hear the Star-Spangled Banner for Amazing Grace. I automatically want to cry. The flag means so much to me.
The story of Aaron Marquez, the story of this great country. Here on Our American Stories. This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains, and overpriced furniture with washable sofas.com, featuring Anibay, the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly pricing.
Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibay's pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic, high-resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time. With modular pieces, you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life.
Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off site-wide at washablesofas.com. Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping. No restocking fees, every penny back.
Shop now at washable sofas.com. Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. If you eat too many ultra-processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes, and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try This from the Washington Post.
I'm Christina Quinn, I host Try This. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Follow TryThis Right Now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it. The day begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club at Boston Logan Airport.
You get the clam chowder. In San Diego, it's Tostadas. New York, Espresso Martini. It's 10 a.m. Why not?
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Morgan Chase Bank, NA member FDIC, subject to credit approval. You heard it before many times. Water is life. But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo Reservation do not have clean, running water? With your support, St.
Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is ready to give water to Navajo families.
So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to S. BonaventureMission.org.
Homes.com has collaboration tools to help home shoppers search, share, and discuss home shopping with family, friends, and their agent directly through the site. Though it was fun to get that email from your husband about that three bedroom in the hills, to which you replied via text that you would never live in the hills and you'd like to find a three bedroom closer to the beach. To which he replied, why are you so uncompromising? A fun way to spend an afternoon, but we think it's just a tad bit easier our way. Homes.com.
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