EDITOR: On the Sunday before Memorial Day I wanted to thank
Americans but was not allowed to. I went into a tavern downtown and
offered to buy everyone drinks to honor the day. They ignored me.
Not one of the eight patrons even turned around, much less said
“thank you” or even acknowledged what I wanted to do. And I am
sure they heard me.
EDITOR:
On the Sunday before Memorial Day I wanted to thank Americans but was not allowed to. I went into a tavern downtown and offered to buy everyone drinks to honor the day. They ignored me. Not one of the eight patrons even turned around, much less said “thank you” or even acknowledged what I wanted to do. And I am sure they heard me.
So I said I had changed my mind and left. Later I went back. The same people were there but the owner came out and told me to leave. I left and went home thinking, “What’s happening here?” Possibly the owner thought I wanted money for my trouble but I don’t. I absolutely don’t.
The next day, still wanting to show my gratitude for what America is and what it has done for me, I dropped by a different drinking place, one out on Oak Glen Road that I think is called the Quail Canyon Inn. (I love to drive and the backcountry makes a nice drive.)
The place was full of biker types with tattoos but I said, “we are all together and we should remember the young people who dropped their blood so we could enjoy this today.” Then I made the same offer that I had at the other bar. Here, though, they were great and invited me to have a beer with them; they said it was good to hear nice things about America from somebody who wasn’t born here.
I am a good resident. I came here legally many years ago from Buenos Aires in Argentina, married an American citizen and have four wonderful children, all citizens. I have a successful landscaping business and give back to my community. I have three years at a university though, there is nothing wrong with coming from the fields. We all work hard.
But I love this country, not for the money, but for the people. This is what I found at the place on Oak Glen and what I find every day. It’s too bad about the people in the first place. This is the lesson I want to teach my children.
Carlos Suarez-Pinto,
Morgan Hill
