For almost a month we have been trying to get concrete poured for a manufactured home at our winter home in Edinburg, Texas. Today we finally achieved our goal. We have concrete. It is curing and we will have our home moved onto our lot next Tuesday... if the weather holds. Heavy rains could still make the move impossible but we are looking at good forecasts with temperatures in the 90's, sunshine and low humidity.

Meanwhile, we have picked out the furniture for three rooms and just went shopping for appliances. Almost as soon as the house is delivered we'll have the basics for living in the house. We won't be there long. We'll be departing for our usual summer travels as soon as we get everything set up.

I really enjoy working with the crew that did the concrete work for us. There are ten workers, all speaking fluent Spanish if not speaking only Spanish. Luis and his brother Javier are the crew leaders. Luis does all the business end of things and Javier is the crew boss. The rest of the crew speak English in varying degrees. I was talking with Luis today before the first concrete truck arrived. He mentioned the language of the workers and commented on the attitude of many people about non English speaking people. I related to him our visit to Ellis Island this summer.

One of the things that impressed me about this wonderful place was a room that had books brought by the European immigrants, some of their writings and one wall filled with ballots from many locations in the country printed in every language from Europe. Clearly, the ancestors of many if not most of us came to this country speaking a language other than English. Ellis Island should be on your list of places to visit. There are photographs of immigrants coming to America and the faces tell stories that are hard to miss. You can not look at the faces of these people and not feel compassion for them and their plight. What brave people they were and what wonderful contributions they made to this country.

Immigrants have always looked different from "us." Immigrants have almost always talked different from "us." Immigrants have consistently enriched the United States of America even though the people who came to America weren't always the best educated, most upstanding citizens. Their experience and hard work have built the great country we have today. The concrete crew that did the work for us today is an example of the kind of immigrants we've had in the past. They came to America with one plan in mind, to work hard and to give their children a better life than they have had.

I really appreciate the hard work these men did for us today and I don't care what language they speak, the language of their work is universal. They are recent immigrants to the United States of America and they are following in the footsteps of many of our ancestors. America has a bright future with hard working individuals like these men.