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$16M in LSA grants awarded to Luzerne County communities

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Our View: County was right on Glen Mills

<p>It&#8217;s hard to fill your shoes in your life and your world.</p><p>You pay your rent, cellphone, credit cards, insurances of some sort and every other monthly bill that comes your way. Nobody turns and congratulates you. Our monthly cycles are more similar than we think and respect is earned through hard work.</p><p>I&#8217;ve seen a lot of people come and go throughout my years in this business not just as a manager, but the relation to the daily lives of other staff members never leaves my mind.</p><p>A majority of my staff rely on this job (for a lot of them their second job) to enjoy a better life. The daily worries about money, the life of living from paycheck to paycheck, and the constant struggles of my staff are relatable to everyone.</p><p>Creating a positive work environment for them is immensely important, and I know the majority rely on this job and their second paychecks to pay the bills. I&#8217;m lucky enough to have a lot of people on staff willing to work a second job and reap the benefits of a second paycheck to pay their bills.</p><p>My thanks to all the women and men supporting their families doing some of the most thankless jobs in this business for a fair wage can&#8217;t be said enough. They often never complain, they work their full-time jobs, don&#8217;t take a break and come right into their second job, work hard, and this all happens while trying to balance their personal lives in the mean time. Sacrifices are taken by all of them all to ensure their loved ones are taken care of.</p><p>People come out of nowhere and apply for jobs. Dishwashers, servers, prep cooks, line cooks, hosts and bartenders. Some with experience, some without, but if there is a roll to fill, we gladly take them in and start teaching them the way around our restaurant.</p><p>Hard work equals quick pay bumps or for servers and bartenders it means better shifts. Its amazing to watch these people work with smiles on their faces. They&#8217;re able to adapt to working their regular job and add grueling countless hours in addition to try and pay their bills. The extra few bucks in their pockets can pay for anything to give their respective families a better life and in most circumstances go unnoticed by anyone and everyone.</p><p>Our friends in the service industry support families just like everyone else. They don&#8217;t ask for thanks. They are here to work hard and make every extra dollar they can to make sure their families are living a better life than they had. They are your neighbors, your friends and your family.</p><p>I have a lot of stories to tell about a lot of individuals I&#8217;ve met over the years but grouping them together into a big appreciation is better than one story.</p><p>They are all similar in ways, but truly different.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>John Lahr</p><p>Guest Columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>John Lahr is general manager of Kevin&#8217;s Bar and Restaurant in Kingston. In Being Hospitable he will talk about life and work as experienced during his 20 years in the hospitality industry.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Being Hospitable: An appreciation Of hard work