Opinions

I’d never been to a U.S. citizenship ceremony before. I’d never even thought about it much. I knew the process took a long time but, beyond that, I knew nothing about it, until I was invited to one. My dear friend, Betty, was coming in from out of town to attend the citizenship ceremony of her son-in-law, Raul. Raul is a quiet and soft-spoken man who works in corporate catering. He has been waiting to become an American citizen for many years and finally, last Thursday, he became one.

After watching the recent presidential debate, in which the CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, a pair who spew a nasty disdain about Donald Trump, were surprisingly objective during the 90-minute encounter between President Joe Biden and his challenger for the Oval Office.

Many of you refrain from watching national news or reading daily newspapers for a variety of reasons: you dislike the liberal media, you don’t enjoy watching politicians argue or you simply don’t care.

I’m actually writing this column from my cabana in the mountains of Ecuador. In fact, if I look out my window, there is a snow-capped volcano in the distance. While you are enduring a hot Texas summer, I get to experience perfect weather. It goes from a low in the forties in the morning to a high in the seventies during the afternoon. It’s unbelievable. However, I feel like I should clarify at this point…I’m not here on vacation (though the weather and views are breath-taking). I am here on a mission trip with a team of twenty-five people from my church. The cabana that I am staying in is located on the grounds of Camp Chacauco near Patate, Ecuador. This camp also has a seminary on campus! We are here to help the camp and go out to a local church plant and do some construction work and a Vacation Bible School.

Last night, my husband, Peter, and I went to see the play “Come From Away.” I read about it last year, waited for the day tickets were available, and bought the very best cheap seats I could buy. I love going to the theater more than almost anything, so you might be surprised to learn my husband is not much of a theatergoer. I’ve learned, over the years, if I ask him months in advance, he imagines the date will never come and agrees to go with me -- and that’s what he did when I asked him last December about this show. The show came to town last night. Peter is a good sport.

Hearing the words Fourth of July conjures images in my mind of glimmering fireworks, backyard barbeques, and family time. I am grateful to live in the United States of America, and despite all that we have seen happening in our country lately, I think that most Americans are still proud of the reasons we celebrate Independence Day. Independence for the United States in 1776, of course, is the origin of our celebration, but I think the idea of independence is not fully understood and appreciated by the public today. America is associated with many important words – freedom, justice, and strength, to name a few, but could it be that the most American word is actually independence?

I’ve been working on a script with a producer named Eli. I’m going to perform a show made from pieces of columns I’ve written over the years. I’ve been looking for themes and ideas and stringing them together, and I thought I’d done a pretty good job, so I sent off a draft to Eli. “This is not what we talked about!” Eli told me.

About twenty years ago, I had the privilege to take in a live performance of the Flying Karamazov Brothers from the front row of the Power Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The cast of men, who are not actual brothers, are a juggling and comedy troupe who have traveled and presented shows, including appearances in movies as well as Broadway stages.

I know it wasn’t my first glass of lemonade, but it was the first one I remember.