America Means Freedom To Them

I learned of another immigrant story in Alexandria, about a fellow who made it to America from Vietnam. Speaking no English, he worked as a janitor for a fellow immigrant who’d managed to purchase and run a handful of fast food restaurants.

The fellow learned English. He became a cook and server, then an assistant manager, then the head manager. He saved. Last I heard, he owned three Taco Bells and was living in a nice home in suburban Alexandria.

Two of my favorite people in Alexandria ran Pat’s Market, a small convenience store - brothers born and raised in India. The older brother had been a professor at a technical college, but when he and his wife married, they wanted better opportunities for their children. So he emigrated to America.

Unable to secure teaching work in Alexandria, he become a cook, busboy and janitor. He saved and brought his wife over. They saved more and brought his four siblings over, as well as his mother and father.

Eventually, they saved enough to purchase the market, as well as a motel. When I last spoke with them, both brothers beamed as they told me they had children in medical school.

There’s one thing all these wonderful immigrants have in common: They love America, because they love the freedom that allowed them to pursue happiness.

I wish native-born Americans eager to hand their freedom over to a socialist form of government could spend some time with them.

Millions of immigrants know how precious and volatile freedom can be - and why we Americans should be vigilant safeguarding it.

Copyright 2020 Tom Purcell. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970's Childhood," a humorous memoir available at amazon.com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. For info on using this column in your publication or website, contact Sales@cagle.com or call (805) 969-2829. Send comments to Tom at Tom@TomPurcell.com.