MIDDLETOWN – John Ruffini is a living example of how the path to the American dream is not always a straight one.

When John Ruffini’s parents emigrated here from Italy in 1961, they knew very little about the United States. They would soon find out how hard they had to work to reach their own American dream.

“My father and my mother had never been here before, but once they reached New Jersey, they rented a one-bedroom apartment in Red Bank for 1964,” said Ruffini, today the owner of Affordable Precision, a business that specializes in sealing and repairing granite and marble countertops, after spending many years working in the telephone business.

“After living there for a short time, they looked around and found the home that I live in now (in Middletown) and we lived there ever since.”

One of his mother’s first jobs was working in a sweatshop.

“I understand why they call it a sweatshop because you really sweat yourself to death working there for so many hours in the day,” Ruffini said. “It was a tough environment to work in because there was no air conditioning whatsoever in the entire building. There would literally be one hundred people of all ethnic backgrounds just going at it making dresses or different types of clothes. My parents never waited around for something to happen no matter how bad it was. They always went out and handled their responsibilities first hand.”

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Making a living early

As a boy, Ruffini got an allowance from his parents on a regular basis, but it wasn’t enough. His parents told him to get a job to make extra money, and so he did. He did odd jobs, like cutting grass and pulling weeds around his neighborhood.

“I would go around to my neighbors’ houses and they would pay me three to five dollars depending on the job,” Ruffini said. “For most of the time back then, everyone cut their own lawns, but I was able to pick a few houses that offered me work to do it myself. They were happy with the quality of my work and had me come back to do it again.”