What Year Is This?

I haven't been compelled to set figurative pen to paper for a while. I suppose if you don't have a weekly deadline, complacency has a tendency to rear it's ugly head and not much gets done. But, there was a news story recently, that, initially started my blood boiling. Then I realized how ridiculously backward the thinking was and calmed down, realizing that this was the kind of incident that can make a gypsy violin cry and then laugh.

Dateline:Tangipahoa's 8th ward in Louisiana where Justice of the Peace ( a misnomer if I've ever heard one) Keith Bardwell refused to perform a marriage ceremony for a couple because she was white and he was black. My first response was to once again to resurrect that great American Scooby Doo - “HUH?” Then I thought, “Hey, wait a minute. What year is this?” I just couldn't believe what I was reading.

The guy said that his reason was that he was concerned about their potential offspring and that he wanted no part in that kind of a future. Heaven forbid one of those poor partial pickaninnies should grow up and suffer the same fate as some....like becoming President of the United States.

He later stated that he would not apologize for something that he didn't feel he had done wrong, adding that he was not a racist, but....Anyone who starts a sentence with, “I am not a racist, but...” generally is. He supposedly proved his point by saying that he has married many black couples and they have even used his bathroom. I'm sure he fully expected them to clean it as well. “And, could you straighten up the family room and vacuum while you're at it?”

My wife is black – I am not. I suppose that puts us well within the definition of an “interracial couple,” although, I have always taught my children that there is only one race and that is the human race. That's what I have always written on any form or application that asks for “race.” I believe that the only thing “inter” about our marriage is that she is a woman and I am a man.

I don't believe my kids have suffered too much. Let me check. My oldest daughter is a doctor whose practice is thriving to the point that she's been told it may have to become a closed practice (no more patients accepted) within a year. My second oldest is the mother of two amazing children who is home schooling and doing exceedingly well. My 3rd oldest daughter (who has been a model since she was 18 months old) graduated from the University of North Texas in three years, with honors. She is now working on her Masters degree in psychology at SMU and will be finishing that program early as well. My youngest daughter is a freshman in high school where she has the distinction of being the first freshman in the school's history to be named first chair flute in the orchestra. She is also getting top grades in Honors and AP classes where she is doing college level work along side juniors and seniors. These poor kids....Oh, the humanity.

My hat is off to Governor Jindal of Louisiana, who is calling for Bardwell's ouster. The guy has absolutely no remorse and refuses to change his archaic attitudes. For him, nothing will change. I understand that he and his family are going out tonight and, by god, the plan to party like it's 1959.



THAT'S HOW I FEEL WHAT CAN I TELL YA'

Driving Us Crazy

We may be sitting in a lovely townhouse on a golf course in Miami, but, my wife and I are also sitting on the horns of a dilemma and that can be quite uncomfortable. Actually, it is my wife’s issue, but, as in most good relationships, we share.
Here is her tale of woe. Enjoy.
We recently went to get our drivers licenses transferred from Texas to Florida and were informed, when we got through the ridiculously long line, that we would be going no further without an original copy of our birth certificates. Apparently, our standing there wasn’t proof enough of our existence, which, I suppose can be relatively understandable in some situations. I knew that I had mine in an envelope at home, which was only about 5 miles away. This was quite doable. I had but to go get it and come back. Not such an easy solution for my wife.
You see, her father was born in South Bend, Indiana and her mother was born and raised in Bryan, Texas. My wife was born while her mother was studying in Mexico City and brought back to the Lone Star state where she spent a few early years before the family moved to Gary, Indiana. I know what you’re thinking at this point, “So, what’s the issue?”
Well, my late mother-in-law was never a stickler for details, like, filing the birth so as to obtain a birth certificate. There is no record of my wife’s birth anywhere. I know she was born, if for no other reason than the fact that she gave birth to my 5th child and that I see her on a daily basis. That comes in especially handy when I get home from work and there is a sandwich waiting for my lunch. Hey, those things don’t just make themselves.
The fact that she can’t get a passport without a birth certificate and can do no traveling outside the country has been a minor issue, but nothing to really go to any extra trouble about. If we want to take a vacation, there are perfectly wonderful places to see all over this great land. Now, however, there is the more immediate problem of not being able to get a drivers license in the Sunshine State. Her mother didn’t help matters by naming her after the fine folks she was staying with, so when she tells people that her name is Marina Guadalupe and she was born in Mexico City to American parents, they are hard pressed to buy it.
She has, in the past few days, been in contact with the Mexican Consulate and the State Department and has received very little help. There is a thing called a “Certificate of Citizenship” that is tentative at best. It costs $480 and comes with the hope that she will even be able to obtain it. They also told her that an option would be to become a naturalized citizen. This is absolutely the only time I’ve ever heard of a U.S Citizen having to be naturalized to get a drivers license, but, I guess there is a first time for everything. We are still working on the logistics of getting this done, but, in the meantime she has to be extra careful behind the wheel. For most people the biggest worry about getting stopped for a moving violation would be getting a ticket. For her…it’s getting deported. Another classic case of bureaucracy at work....for you.


THAT’S HOW I FEEL WHAT CAN I TELL YA’