"I chose to be an American. What did you ever do, except for having been born?"
Ayn Rand is supposed to have used this rejoinder to a heckler who claimed that as a foreigner, she knew nothing of America. I am not a big Ayn Rand fan, but for me, that sums up a lot of the American experience. We are all immigrants in a way. My grandfather, born in Naples, had a love of America that I can only approximate. I take her for granted, but he realized how wonderful it really was.
In the ongoing immigration war, I hope we all remember these words.
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My wife's maternal grandfather came from Naples. The family name is Caruso.
>My wife's maternal grandfather came from Naples. The family name is Caruso.
Was his first name Enrico?
(Sorry)
They say "see Naples and die". The city is very poor (which is why so many people left to come to America) but the location is incredible. Of course, one day Vesuvius will blow again and Naples with it, but they have a certain amount of fatalism there and accept it.
When I was in Naples, around 1974, en route to Sicily by ferry, we were bussed in the the ferry terminal, and although we had a wait of over two hours until embarkation, we were advised not to leave the area of the terminal. Americans were so unpopular there (it was a heavily communist city) that it was thought we wouldn't be safe. So I didn't see much of Napoli. Palermo was nice, though.
Ayn Rand came to this country legally.
:)
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