Sitting with friends at the July 4 barbecue table, I mentioned that I have to get all the peeling old paint from the siding of my garage, and repaint the whole thing. I mean, actually HAVE TO — my home insurer won’t renew next year unless I do, they tell me.

Friend: “Take a drive down Route 110. That’s where the day laborers hang out. They’ll be glad to do it for a few bucks. They’ll do a really good job, too. They know how to work, those guys.”

Me: “You think I could hire illegal immigrants to work on my house? After all these years of writing about the problem?”

Friend: “Please yourself. A regular contractor will cost you five times as much and take twice as long.”

[Derb] This is of course true. It’s a horrible job, and I really don’t want to do it myself. Just finding a contractor who doesn’t use any illegal labor is going to take time, though. It’s not hard to see how we got where we are with this issue. ‘Scuse me, I have to go take a drive.