Tag: Salt Lake City

They keep coming

In a few days, they might put on Neil Diamond‘s America.

Voter registration. Organ donor. Vehicle registration.

They bring some cash (let’s hope so) and a load of dream.

Many had left personal chapters of their lives before boarding that plane.

Just like the Irish and Polish a century and a half ago.

Except that the ports of entry may now be in Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The new Ellis Islands.

First stop often are ethnic enclaves which help ease their transition and acculturation (euphemism for losing out that which had made them them in the first place).

Gone are the scarves, the beards and the cone hats.

Instead, we have everyone wearing some sort of emblems: American Eagles, Newport Beach, Disney and sports teams.

I used to proudly wear PENN STATE grey and blue.

I still am proud.

But having been here too long, I started to realize I had overcompensated to becoming an American. It is a melting pot which frisked me of my ethnicity.

Once in CA, I realized everyone had come from somewhere else.

It’s LA. Dream factory (Hollywood) and Disneyland.

Not just people who reinvent themselves. The city itself has done that (you will not find the setting like you saw in the movies).  You are lucky to buy a map and take a tour where the stars might live (if they don’t check in a secret hotel to hook up).

Stuff of dream, of mirage (farther out, it’s more true in Las Vegas, but then, what happened there stayed there).

Yet they keep coming. Keep driving the vehicles. Keep smiling for the camera (except for the traffic control one).

And best of all, like one of the two Google founders, parents raised them to be good in math, which indirectly give us “Search”.

I feel lucky.

America feels lucky. And should be thankful (two-way street).

OK, now you can fade in Neil Diamond’s America. It’s Fourth of July.

If you hear a lot of fireworks, you know the economy is back in full swing.

One more reason to celebrate, besides Independence from the Brits and wherever else they – we – were from. But keep a toe back there, because

it’s good to know where one was from, and appreciate that unique root. May your descendants give us all the “googles” in this land of opps, starting at the DMV line. License will be in the mail in three  weeks.

worthless currency

The bus rider paid for the fare in Trillions of Zimdollar. Or else, a live chicken will do.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090816/ap_on_re_af/af_zimbabwe_zimdollar

I experienced this back on May 1st, 1975 aboard a Seventh Fleet warship on the way to Subic Bay (thank you President Ford).

We learned from word of mouth that the South Vietnam currency in our possession (my mom emptied her educator’s life savings two days before) was no longer good! From treasure to trash, educator to invalid.

But the sales guy in me wouldn’t give up. I ended up selling some of those worthless papers to bypassing navy guys in the Bay

for souvenirs (their coins enabled me to buy Coke from the vending machine).

I empathize with the Zimbabwe people. Money is money.

A researcher in Dartmouth also found US paper dollars tainted more with Cocaine (due to Recession stress??) than found 2 years ago.

He must have all the latest instruments for detecting tiny traces of the substance.

I admire University labs. Any TA can come up with a thesis to extend H1B visa.

One interesting finding in the study: Detroit, Boston, Baltimore and DC dollars carry more traces of cocaine than Salt Lake City‘s. It certainly indicates that young Mormon men got sent overseas for two years, thus depleting the potential drug using market in that city.

I would start a bridal service in Salt Lake City in anticipating for these guys’ return to start a Mormon family.

(and my ideal brand extension would be a baby clothing line, not Bath, Bed and Beyond, but Marry, Mummy and Munching).

That is, if they are not back from Zimbabwe. My stores will have to take US dollars , not foreign currency.

It’s hard enough to kick-start another consumer craze in this country, much less receiving Zimdollars for all the Chinese-made goods. Man, since when that things get so difficult yet so simple: start a Christmas in August movement.

At least it’s still hot enough to sell high-margin Victoria Secret summer stuff. Will you take live chicken for that?

P.S. As of this edit, London treasury bank notes are no longer issued in cotton. Instead it’s now in plastic. Signs of the time.