“Alaska—the Last Frontier—was, for me, the First Frontier in my new traveling dishwasher adventure” (59), says Pete Jordan in his book Dishwasher. The decision is final now and Pete has set off on the first of his many journeys on his quest to wash dishes in all fifty states. Alaska is just the beginning of this quest; so far he has dished in places such as Denver Colorado, Utah, Saint Louis, Atlanta, New Hampshire, and Los Angeles. Although, his travels are not all fun and care free; he is faced with a diverse group of people who don’t always react to him quite as nicely as he would like. This first happens to him with his girlfriend, Melanie. The end of summer is fast approaching and Pete is planning on going on trip that he invites her to accompany him on. Melanie’s parents urge her otherwise instead telling her to finish college and dump her boyfriend, Pete. They feel he is just a dishwashing bum with no future; he describes them as being “born-again Christian parents” (71). Pete deeply disagrees with them for he isn’t a bum, he has a job and a well paying one that he feels he is quite good at. Even so in by summers end Melanie gives into her parents and dumps him. Although Pete is a pretty content care-free guy you see that he still cares some of what others think about him. He dislikes being insulted about his career choice; because although he’s no doctor or scientist he’s still a working adult just living life in a different way. I think he has to learn not to take the negative things that others might say about him so personally, its part of life and if he likes what he’s doing than that’s all that really matters. Even so the ending of this relationship really ends all ties that might have been holding Pete down; in a way this has given him his freedom to go on pursuing his fantasies.
He says “It was exciting to wake up in the van, stare at the ceiling and struggle to figure out where in the nation I was (73). So now adjusted to his new life Pete knows he has found his path and can pleased with how his life has turned out.
Jordan, Pete. Dishwasher : One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States. New York: HarperPerennial, 2007.
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4 comments:
It's disappointing that melanie's parent's couldn't see how cool Pete's journey really is. I think it's amazing that he's trying to travel to all 50 states just to wash dishes. Now, many people would think that is a waste of time but I think Pete's journey has a deeper meaning that people should think about. I think he's doing it to see the country and see what everyone else in America is like, and everyone's life style's and what not. It's a unique journey for sure, but that doesn't make him a bum, at all.
I think it will help Pete if he doesn't take the comments about his job personally. If he knows hes good at his job, I don't understand why he lets others hold him back. It is frusterating that Melanie's parents don't understand, or appreciate Pete's journey. I would guess that many people don't understand the meaning in his journey to all fifty states.
Its cool that Pete doesn't really care what others think about him. If they disagree, they disagree, but he's gonna do what he wants to do. I think it is a really cool idea too
I personally could see where Melanie's parents were coming from. They seriously wanted their daughter to be happy, but they accidentally thought that happiness had something to do with the kind of job her boyfriend had. Dish-washing itself doesn't seem like a very appealing job, but his journey seems like a really great goal.
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