Darwin was wrong. Or only partially right.
We aren’t descended in a straight line lineage from one hominid or another.
Our ancestry, that is, human ancestry, is more complicated than that.
This is intriguing and fascinating, and I don’t have time to fully realize where this fact leads.
Send me the “for dummies” crib book. Please.
Here at All The Best, this is a positive lifestyle spot, so the pros will be of the “all in favor” variety. The “cons” will not be akin to those who offer us fraudulent claims to entice us to part with our money.
Simply put, Pros stand for yes and Cons for no.
So, you ask, what are we voting for?
Well, let’s see what we can say about immigrants that meets my positive take.
The fact remains that mass migration and nativist backlash have stalked one another for more than a century.
Idrees Kahloon, Economists Love Immigration. Why Do So Many Americans Hate It? in the New Yorker
Full disclosure is warranted: I was 6 when I arrived in Jackson Heights. My parents applied for political asylum when I was nine.
My expectation of growing up in the land of my birth was replaced by my life as an alien in America.
Oh, of course, I adapted to my new home, sporting a Queens accent with ease. For many years under all that Americanization, I still felt like a foreigner.
The plus side of immigration coming from inside the immigrant experience is the opportunity it offers to those of us “yearning to breathe free.”
It may sound like propaganda, but we of the alien persuasion tend to be extreme in our patriotism. We are filled with the desire to make sure America meets all of its promises.
Patriotism, like all things in the great divide that America has become, is a fraught subject.
Let us stipulate that the grateful immigrant is a good citizen. We work hard as a rule. We pay taxes. We act in accordance to our civic obligations.
I’ve listed four reasons to honor the contributions immigrants make.
They also often pick up the slack jobs that the second or third or tenth generation won’t work.
Jingoist considerations are the first things that come to mind. You know, retorts like “they are different” qualify.
There’s reason one through twenty to turn immigrants away.
Who do you spend the most time with?
It is a boon to have the time and wherewithal to be able to lose oneself in thought.
It is a loss that brings us many gains.
The rush and whir of even the best company can be a distraction.
I value the distractions of society.
I learn from acquaintances as we pass aphorisms and chit-chat.
Being with my love and my friends brings me pleasure and joy.
I treasure these times but need my own time as well.
Time alone is as important to me as time spent with others.
Luckily, I spend the most of my time with myself.
It gives me the happenstance, time and grace for self-reflection.
If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?
When? Why? Wherefore?
All of the above.
Describe your dream chocolate bar.
Nuts are the not so secret ingredient that meets my chocolate fantasies. Small pieces of nuts as in the Baci from Perugina are the epitome of sweet deliciousness. It’s the crunch that takes goodness to greatness.
It’s her fragility that gave her her strength
It also kept her to seem young and naive. In her film roles, she maintained a savvy innocence.
I am having breakfast. Not at Tiffany’s, but that photo makes the bathroom here at Effy’s elegant.
Audrey Hepburn definitely is an uplifting influence.
These emojis just aren’t who I am, and yet, in some ways, they are an improvement.
I speak of the suggested responses my cellphone setup offers in text mode.
I can shoot a starry sun out or a cup of hot coffee to greet my friends.
The options often brighten my day. They send a kind of “enough said” message out that represents me in my best light.
Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?
My memory is spotty, but I remember loving a biography of Mickey Mantle taken from the school library in 4th, 5th, or 6th grade.
In retrospect, I realize it should have been placed in the congratulatory fiction category, but it was inspiring. To this day, I can’t shake my true admiration for number 7.
My love for sports themed storytelling has also stayed with me. I’ve just repositioned it onto film.
What fears have you overcome and how?
I climb to the very top of my step ladder these days. It’s an exercise in balance and a way of overcoming the fear of heights.
Well, yes, a shortcut to fighting the fear. The step ladder is not all that high. I attain the second step with some difficulty. I rummage at the top of my cabinets. When I descend, I am happy for my accomplishment.
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
There is joy in appreciation and in being able to communicate it. I don’t want to overthink my motivation or undervalue simplicity. Putting pen to paper (even metaphorically via my keyboard) is a much appreciated simple joy.
So much of what I write is random. Thank you for letting me share those serendipitous rambling thoughts with you.
All The Best