Ola Amigos!

I spent the day in Miami and walked around a beautiful shopping mall in Coral Gables listening to young, fashionably dressed shoppers speak in Spanish, snacked on beef empanadas while looking for a book at Boarders, had lunch in a terrific Argentinian cafe, had a delightful conversation with a young woman from Buenos Aires and bought a pair of shoes at Neiman Marcus with the help of a charming saleswoman named Gloria who hailed from Colombia. You might say it was Latin Day for me and I thouroughly enjoyed myself. I have no facility for language and only know a wee bit of Spanish (un poco!) but had no problem communicating with anyone, even some of the helpful and friendly cafe staff who spoke little English.
On the drive back to Sebastian I got stuck in some heavy traffic and had to avoid a couple of dangerous drivers who were weaving in and out of heavy traffic as if they were New York City cabbies trying to get a fare to La Guardia at rush hour. Don’t know where one guy was from but he was driving a blue Malibu, had a skinhead look and a serious tatoo on the arm hanging out of the open window. Now he may have been a really sweet guy but he had a menacing look about him and he was driving like a freakin’ maniac and could have (and for all we know may later have) caused some real damage on the road as he was cutting people off left and right.
What I am driving at here is that you cannot judge a book by it’s cover, nor can you judge a person by their country of origin or the language they speak. Hell, by now I hope we all realize that you can’t judge anyone by the color of their skin.
Which brings me to Sonia Sotomayor. I’ve been listening to some of the rhetoric on the right about this woman and it is pissing me off. It’s sexist, racist, vulgar and incredibly devisive. What the hell is the point? The woman is obviously qualified so why devolve to these kinds of attacks? I am not saying she shouldn’t be held up to scrutiny and challenged at the confirmation hearings – that’s part of the process. But the stuff that’s going around by not only the radical fringe of the Republican Party but some of the members of Congress is frankly disgusting.
The woman has more experience on the bench than anyone currently on it or, as I understand it, than most of the previous nominees, including Chief Justice Roberts. Let’s get to the issues and keep the BS to an absolute minimum.
The Hispanic segment of the population is the fastest growing of all ethnic groups in America. Like it or not, in a few years they will be the majority. That fact makes Sotomayor not only a sound legal choice but a sound social choice as well. And don’t tell me that the nominations are made solely on legal standings. If that were the case than Clarence Thomas would still be a law clerk somewhere. In fact, Thomas had served less than a year on the bench when he was nominated by elder Bush and had spent most of his career in the beaurocracy. He was nominated to the court to appease Conservatives upset with David Souter and the bludgening of Robert Bork. Other than that he had very few qualifications for the bench and he has been a lackluster addition to the Court ever since.
Tomorrow we are going to the Kennedy Space Center. It is my birthday gift to Patricia. We will spend the day on the tour, doing the lunch with an astronaut thing and end the day watching “Star Trek” on the giant IMAX screen. It should be a great day, one that should remind us of what a great country America is. This country of immigrants put a man on the moon. This country of immigrants leads the way in science, medicine, the arts and don’t forget NASCAR.
My grandfather, Sam Shapiro, came to this country as a 12 year old. He was alone and spent some time on Ellis Island because he was sick. He had been sent from Russia by his parents at the outset of the revolution because they were afraid and wanted to make sure that at least one child, their oldest son, would have a chance to survive. After being released from Ellis Island, speaking little if any English, he made his way to the Russian-Jewish neighborhhod on Hester Street, was taken in by people from his hometown and started working in a grocery store for 25 cents a week. He eventually got his own vegetable cart, saved his money, studied engineering at Cooper Union, got married and owned his own business, a popular restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. He retired in the 60’s and spent the next 20 or so years of his life volunteering to help others and running a children’s summer camp.
He was proud of America just as he was proud of where he came from. One of his happiest moments came after he retired, when he went back to Europe for the first time since he was 12. In West Berlin (remember the wall?) he was standing with a group of flag waving American tourists watching a convoy of American troops roll by when one of the soldiers stood up and shouted to him by name. “Hey Sam”, the skinny kid screamed with a nasal Brooklyn twang, “I miss your hotdawgs!” the entire crowd looked at him like he was a celebrity and after that they all wanted to know him. My grandfather wept as he told me that story. To him that moment was everything.
And by the way, he was a Socialist at heart. He believed in working for the collective good of all people. He spoke with a thick Russian accent and his English was sometimes sketchy but he was extremely intelligent and savvy. But make no mistake, he was 100% All-American.
Sonia Sotomayor is a proud, dignified woman who is carrying on the great American tradition of getting ahead on merit. She deserves respect if nothing else. I wonder if she knows how to make empanadas?