E Pluribus Unum
After a few rough days I gave myself a treat today. I went to have my nails done. Being a person who has her nails done is fairly new for me. I had my first pedicure on my 65th birthday. There is a salon in our neighborhood that is owned by a Chinese couple. The people working in the nail salon are either Chinese or Spanish. There is a young woman from Costa Rica and another from Puerto Rico. Some of the women speak English, some don’t. As I don’t speak either Chinese or Spanish I smile and nod a lot, trying to convey that I’m very grateful for their kind and gentle work. My next treat was to have my hair cut and colored (pinky-lavender). The color fades with time but for a couple of weeks it makes me happy.
On the way to the hairdresser, I passed an Ecuadorian restaurant. Tom and I happened to be there on their opening night. They gave us samples of Ecuadorian food and drinks for free and introduced us to their baby daughter. That baby is now grown up and helping her parents run the restaurant.
I also drove past the car repair shop that has kept our car and our children’s cars on the road. The man who owns the repair shop is from Mexico. We saw his two little girls grow up and each attend Ivy League Universities. They now live in New York City with high powered careers.
My hair dresser is a lovely young woman from Albania. She came here on her own, knowing no one and not speaking English. She now owns her own shop and keeps me looking as good as is humanly possible (especially with pinky-lavender hair). While in her shop I received a phone call from a friend who is German but has lived in America for many years.
How many different countries were represented in one morning in my life? By my count, SEVEN!
Our diversity is our strength. There are thousands of people waiting at our border who have walked thousands of miles with children and babies. A great number of them are fleeing starvation poverty and brutal gang violence. They want a chance for a better life for themselves and their families. They’re desperate to find work here. There are thousands of jobs going begging for workers in our country. I wonder if there is anyone intelligent enough in our federal government who could think of a solution for our “border crisis.” I was with several people today who could show the powers that be the enormous benefit to our country that immigrants provide. But then again, I’m just an old lady with pinky-lavender hair.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO EVERYONE WHERE EVER YOU’RE FROM!