Aug 29 2002
The New Yankee
By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m one of those annoying people who remember birthdays and anniversaries and do their Christmas shopping before December 24. I might as well admit that most of mine is already done, and in fact I’m bringing presents for the UK twig of the family tree when I go to London on September 10. This character flaw, coupled with an indefatigable desire to get up early no matter what time zone I’m in makes me pretty much unfit for human consumption, but you have been warned (to quote Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her: “NOW a warning?!”
Pause for slings, arrows, sighs of disgust, and the mental composition of insulting e-mails which may or may not be sent.
But to resume, today marks the day six years ago that John became an American citizen. The ceremony took place at the Masonic Hall on California Street, across from Grace Cathedral (which I always think of as the Ce-ment Church, pronounced Beverly Hillbillies style, because, well, it is).
There were hundreds and hundreds of new citizens, and I seem to think the actual count was something like 1,500, and that was only for one day. It’s no surprise to me that over 25% of the Bay Area’s population was born somewhere else.
The ceremony was moving, and at the end one of the new citizens, who had emigrated from China, led the others in the Pledge of Allegiance. He recited it with great enthusiasm, but what I’ll never forget is how he ended with “And liberty and justice for ALL!” with emphasis on the “all”. You got the distinct impression that this was a novelty for him and a real improvement, too.
It was a relief to me that we were finally finished with the hell of dealing with the INS and filling out form after form after form, all of which seemed to cost $200 non-refundable to file, whether they approved you or not. It was an astonishingly lengthy process, choked with bureaucracy and stupidity at every step, yet worth it in the end. To anyone else currently dealing with the INS: you have my deepest sympathy. And don’t let the bastards get you down.
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