http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/o...05/102705.html

Published on: 10/27/05
A pickup truck dashes into the side entrance of the Shell station at Northwood Drive and Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Within seconds, it is surrounded by a group of men thinking the truck represents work for the day.

But the driver, a woman, waves them off. She's only interested in getting gas. The men retreat. Not a single word is exchanged.

"The first time that happened, it was frightening," says Elisibeth Bolton, the driver. "It's not anymore, but I wish they had someplace else to go to find work."

The scene at the Sandy Springs gas station is fairly typical. Sometimes the men, almost all Hispanic, wait in vacant lots or in the parking lots of strip malls. Sometimes they gather near home and building supply stores, ready to offer their services to professional contractors as well as weekend landscapers. Their calling card is their availability and the willingness to work.

Getting a realistic estimate on the number of day laborers in the metro area is almost impossible. But it clearly numbers in the thousands. Many of them â€â€