The latest Rasmussen poll that is done often for the first time in over a year has favored Republicans, 41% to 38%.  Republicans now lead Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.  This is significant but the Republicans haven't gained much ground the change is do to loss of Democratic support, so a lot more has to be done, but keep up the good fight.  This is a fight that is winable.  I don't want to even get into the cramming of the National Health Care, hopefully it won't be too entrenched  by the time we are able to get it repealed.  Although there is immortality in these laws and so few have ever been reversed and that certainly is a problem.  For those of you and I include my self that want to see a big change in 2010, it is looking a lot better.

Charlie sent me a copy of a letter to the editor that didn't get published, that in itself make it pretty good.  Basically she talked about how people that landed on Ellis Island around 1900 wished deeply to assimilate and left allegiance to their old country behind and took up the torch of freedom offered them in the greatest country on earth.  Where as today even if an immigrant is legal, they expect the whole country to change to suit their old customs, just stay where you were if you like them so much, is my personal take.

I am a 3rd generation American, both my maternal and paternal grand parents arrived at Ellis Island in or around 1900.  Although my fathers side was a bit of a mystery to me and kept that way purposely apparently, I never met them.  I do know they settled in New York City and were part of the Financial System.  Although they came from Russia they apparently made their way into the primarily German immigrants pre 1900 Jewish controlled system.  In fact if you trace Jewish immigrants you would see that even the established German immigrants suffered because of the less trained and skilled personnel coming from Russia and Poland.  The neighbourhood that I grew up in was primarily Russian and Polish Jews.  Even though treated un kindly still assimilated and loved this country.  I can’t imagine that my paternal grand parents came here as Jewish Russian immigrants with any wealth, most likely just had enough to get them here.  They did very well in their new home, an inspiration and example of how anyone with hard work can succeed in this great country.  A quick example of how well they did, for my father’s 13th birthday and Bar Mitzvah sent him and a nanny to the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1933, the depression was already 4 years old and apparently they were still doing pretty well.

My Maternal grand parents I knew more of,  both by stories and by spending some time with them.  My grand mother spoke english very well but of course had an accent, but she also spoke many other languages as well, she was a very bright woman.  They settled in Revere(Named for the patriot Paul Revere)  Massachusetts and they never left Revere.  My grand father opened a shoe repair shop, something very much needed in the day when they didn’t just throw shoes away, they put heels and soles on them and wore them until impossible to do so.  I spend many hours hanging around his one man shop, he had a thriving business even in the 50’s which would have been when I spent time in the shop.  He always had 30 jobs waiting, he labored from the minute he arrived until he closed the doors at night.  Interrupted only when people wanted a shine and he had 3 or 4 shine booths, why I am not sure, there was only  him.  Although he did quite well, he was an ignorant man, he  had no formal education, but he did know how to work and put out his hand for money to pay for his labor.  In those day it was all cash.  He would stuff the money in his pocket, not even counting it or knowing what the days receipts would have been.  They never owned a car but it was a short walk to work.   They always lived in what was called a walk up, a rental that was typically on the 3rd floor, this must have been hard in their later years.   On the way home he would hit a couple of bars and more likely than not get into a fight,  I assume he won some and lost some.  He was usually pretty drunk by the time he arrived home and would be very hungry and expected dinner on the table as soon as he got home no matter what time it may be.  He would empty his pockets on the table which contained what was left of the days receipts.  My grand mother knew what to do with the money once  she got it and so it went for 60 years.  They had 9 children that lived to adulthood, each a contributor to society in their own way, not a bum among them.  Each of their stories are quite interesting as well.  

The point of these stories is that people came here with nothing, less than nothing and made lives for them self and their families.  They didn’t expect welfare or anyone to pay their bills or put food on their table or to provide health care, they took care of each other if need be but not as charity, each gave back in their own way when they could.  These were proud people, I remember going to Shirley Ave(main street Revere), men in suits if they were not working, shinned shoes, most clean shaven if they didn’t have a beard which was reserved more or less for the Rabbi, and a dapper hat.  We would go to a real Deli that had 20 or 30 tables, people meeting, talking about the issues of the day over a Corn Beef on Rye.  I miss those days, too bad we are going to leave behind a world that doesn’t recognise tradition and the lessons learned from history.