Dear America, happy birthday! Here's an idea - you're it :)

Aloha,

Eleven years ago - today - I woke up as an American citizen for the first time.

I was born in the land of the Leprechauns, so when I opened my front door and saw this last June, I laughed.

I knew it. There is treasure at the end of the rainbow :)

And that treasure is America.

In 2004, Bono, he of the Irish group, U2, gave the Commencement Address at the University of Pennsylvania and while there, he said something that I think is wonderful.

America isn't just a country - it's an idea.


Some the highlights of his speech include:

·         It's not everywhere in fashion these days, Americanism. Not very big in Europe, truth be told. No less on Ivy League college campuses. But it all depends on your definition of Americanism.

·         Me, I'm in love with this country called America. I'm a huge fan of America, I'm one of those annoying fans, you know the ones that read the CD notes and follow you into bathrooms and ask you all kinds of annoying questions about why you didn't live up to that...

·         I'm that kind of fan. I read the Declaration of Independence and I've read the Constitution of the United States, and they are some liner notes, dude. As I said yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Independence Hall, and I love America because America is not just a country, it's an idea.

·         America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, lets take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of.

(Me, too:)

Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate America's birthday, and if you live over the pond - or elsewhere - have a great Thursday, too :)

Happy Birthday, America - from a "10-year-old" citizen :)

Aloha,

 

Depending on your political views, they are either undocumented or illegal – but they are here.
And, whether you agree or not, the current “batch” of immigrants in today’s news are, in part, the future of this greatest of nations.
They are only the latest in a long line of settlers and migrants that include people like screenwriter Ang Lee (Taiwan), journalist Joseph Pulitzer (Hungary) and authors such as Thomas Mann (Germany) and Elie Wiesel (Rumania.)

Just so you know, I strongly disagree that anyone who breaks the laws of the land be granted a Disney-style fastpass admission to the United States.
I say this because it’s a major pain in the arse to earn a Green Card, and thus live here legally in the U.S. - but that’s the way it should be.

It took seven-and-a-half years of bureaucracy and red tape to take me from my point of arrival in Washington, D.C. to a Los Angeles-area conference room.
It was there that a United States Federal Judge stood and gave me (and hundreds of other fellow immigrants) a round of applause after a simple ceremony that concluded when we pledged allegiance to this amazing land of the free and home of the brave.

Today, when people ask my background, I simply say “I’m Irish by birth and American by choice.”

So, what should we do with the millions of immigrants “hiding in the shadows,” as some call it?

I don’t know, it’s way above my pay grade, but I’ll tell you one thing.

The vast majority made a long, agonizing choice to come to America.

Some said goodbye to the security of a job and a home.

Many left families to fend for themselves in the hope that American dollars sent via Western Union could turn around severe financial issues in the homestead.

All left a past behind so they could build a future.

One arrived at Dulles Airport on Jan.15, 1996, with two suitcases, no job, home or friends bar one.

We all came here looking for the American Dream.

And, ten years ago, yesterday, on July 3, 2003, I became a naturalized citizen.

So, happy birthday, America.

I love ya, man!

 

(Here's a great video tribute to earlier immigrants set to Neil Diamond's "Coming to America.")

 

 

 

5 ways I LOVE the dog-gone, sometimes annoying, but always *free*, good ol' USA

Aloha,

During the A to Z challenge, (is that a spelling Bee? :) Rebecca Bradley posted a list of five ways to be happy here.

She then happily decided to meme others.

Annalisa Crawford was very sweet to pass it forward last week.

Annalisa, you made me happier than a broke Irishman in a Friday night bar crowd who discovers (at last call) a forgotten $20. (His happiness is tempered as he ponders three things – for he may choose only one.) Another few pints; a taxicab… or a battered sausage, curry chicken pie and a staggeringly long, (but full) walk home.

(I'll wait while the non-Yorkshire readers figure that out :)


Anyhow, here’s how the Happy Meme works:

Offer a shout out to the Happy One who tagged you.
Then, list my five happy ways.
Tag five more.

I'm tagging some of the happiest people I know:

Martin Willoughby

Morgan Shamy

Johanna Garth

Mark Means

Tammy Theriault

 
For *my* five choices, I’m skipping family and Hawaii - I know how blessed I am to have them – and be here.)

However, after a few hours of research and many tears (thanks Annalisa!), here’s five things and a related YouTube clip for each one) that always render me happier than a pig in fresh poop:

1. People watching at an airport arrivals lounge.

Especially when it's a service member returning from deployment who spots and greets their loved ones.

 

2. Driving across the United States.

In the last seventeen years, I’ve done so six times and can’t wait to do it again.
On my journeys I:

·         Rode a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird convertible, my first car, from Key West, Fla., to Orlando, and later moved to Chicago, Ill.

·         Relaxed in a new Mustang GT while I drove from Chicago to Newport Beach, Calif. Stopped for speeding once, I got a $50 ticket from a cop in the Navajo jurisdiction.

(Is it just me, or how cool is it to "earn" a citiation from the Navajo Nation :)

·         Moved with my new bride (a week after our wedding) from San Diego to Central Florida. (We drove two cars and connected via walkie-talkies "in a pre-text world" ;)

·         Man-handled a U-Haul (sure…those slidy bucket seats are comfortable and don’t bounce much) from Long Beach, Calif., to San Antonio, Texas.

·         Solo-chauffeured our two dogs from CA to TX and spent several nights in various, interesting Motel 6’s where I walked first one pound puppy – and then the other – to avoid pet policy penalties.

·         ROAD TRIPPED! from Newport, Rhode Island to San Diego with my Uncle Tom, a retired geologist from Holland. Ugh, I *never* want to see another rock in my life!

 

 

3. Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.

Toward the end of its morning show, the local AM station plays this song once a week.

 

By the end of the song, I’m always bawling while emptying the dish machine or making fresh pancakes for the boys.

 

(It’s quite embarrassing, really, and I hope the front door bell never rings.)

 

But, I can’t help it.

 

I’m proud that I was “born and reared” in Ireland, but I’m so proud that I chose to become an American.

 

 

4. Thanksgiving.

I landed in the U.S. in 1996, but never “got” this holiday until 2001.

 

I was at a pre-Thanksgiving party with a few runner friends.

 

The guy next to me asks what I’m doing for Thanksgiving?

 

Formerly a restaurant manager, I always worked Thanksgiving so the “locals” could enjoy family time. My current restaurant closed for the holiday. I had no plans.

 

The guy flipped open his phone, talked to someone and handed me the phone.

“Hello. Is this Mark?”

“Yes, ma’am…?”

“Brian tells me you’ve nowhere to go for Thanksgiving..,”

“Well, yes, but that’s OK. I’m planning a quiet d—”

“Mark, dinner’s at three. Brian will give you the address. We’ll see you then.”

“But…”

(Dial tone.)

Of course, I had the most wonderful experience and Thanksgiving is now my favorite holiday.

(And to close that circle, here's this :)

 

5.      Voting.

So many people don’t care, but oh my, it’s so important.

And, if you’ve ever wondered why, watch this.

Go on.

You don't have to.

However, I do double-dog dare you to watch this six-minute video.

It's not going to harm or hurt you.

I ask only because it's my right.

And, my fellow American citizens, it's your right to do as you wish.

How awesome is that. I love this place :)

 

God bless the USA.

 

Fourth of July: Happy Birthday & Thank You, America

Aloha,

Happy 236th Birthday, America!

It’s Independence Day (and Insecure Writer’s Support Group day) but I’d like to share what the Fourth of July means to me – an Irish immigrant who became a naturalized citizen nine years ago – yesterday (July 3.)

For the actual ceremony, my wife wore her Navy dress whites uniform, hoping that, as an officer, she could swear me in, but there were 2,700 new citizens, so a judge was in charge!

I’ll never forget when he stood up to give us a round of applause as he officially welcomed us as the nation's newest Americans.

My wife’s parents brought patriotic balloons and gave me a red, white and blue lei, which I wore at work, and all the way until midnight on the Fourth :)

Many have asked why here?

Why America?

In response, I had a long winded, verbal “blog post,” until one night a light went off as I turned the question on this one dude.

“Have you ever been outside the States?”

“No…”

“OK, well then, you’d never understand. Go visit somewhere else, and when you come back, we can talk.”

If you’ve never been out of the USA, you can’t understand what it means to come back to the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

I found this little, tattered flag after 9/11. I can't get rid of it...

(Embedded as a reporter on a trip to Haiti for several days, the first thing I did upon returning (even before showering,) was kiss Old Glory as she waited in the garage for the next sunrise. Then, I thanked God and counted my many, many blessings.)

(That’s how I still feel, but I can’t imagine how awesome it must be for each and every service member who comes home from a deployment…)

I LOVE showing my American passport when I go through Customs, especially in Ireland, because I still have a wee bit of the Oirish accent, and it always throws the officer off for a few seconds… ;)

So, while millions consider themselves Irish-American, I know I’m American-Irish.

As I live my version of the American Dream, some “firsts” (in +/- chronological order) I will never forget include:

·         Being interviewed by an armed Federal Agent at Dulles Airport (about thirty minutes after I landed) due to a clerical error – on my part :)

·         Getting nearly kicked out of the country until above error was found to be legit. (That tale is a post all of its own J)

·         Seeing the Stars and Stripes flying outside someone’s house in Fairfax, Virginia.

·         Watching and moving away as an old Veteran found his buddy on the Vietnam Wall…

·         Getting my first driver’s license in Key West, Florida (the tester was heavily pregnant... I don't think I drove over 13 mph...)

Road Trip: Chicago to first CA Sunset, 2000

·         Going to my first ballgame at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (It’s all about the BleachersJ)

·         Travelling through the Badlands of South Dakota and marveling at Mount Rushmore.

·         Flying the flag the day my wife and I moved into our first home in Florida.

·         Surviving four major hurricanes in six weeks (Summer 2004, in “sunny” Florida…)

·         Voting for the first time (as I drove my Mustang down the street, I had the windows down and Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA cranked up J)

·         Freezing my butt off at Niagara Falls.

·         Hearing a group of kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

·         Holding my first ever published magazine article in Newport Beach, California.

·         Watching the birth of No. 1 Son in San Antonio, Texas.

·         Eating my first hot dog from a street vendor in New York City.

·         Getting goose bumps seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

·         Enjoying my first bottle of Samuel Adams in Boston.

·         Scared out of my wits at the Grand Canyon (yes, I climbed out onto one of those rock ledges…)

 Things I Miss and People I Wish I’d Known:

·         Watching Congress live in 1996 – without the hassle of uber security procedures.

·         The Twin Towers.

·         The young Marine Sgt. and U.S. Army Capt. whose family members I interviewed after the pair died in separate incidents during the war in Iraq.

·         What Joplin, MO, must have looked like prior to the tornadoes that took more than 150 lives in 2011.

 America the Brave:

Sure, things aren’t perfect, but after driving across the United States five times (and counting), staying at least one night in thirty-five states and interviewing dozens of military service members, firefighters, police officers and EMTs, I can’t think of another place I want to live.

My heart swells with pride when I hear the good we do, and my knees buckle at the horrors we commit against one another, but still, there is no place like home…

There’s no place like home… no place like home...