If you live long enough, you might grow up

      If I'm honest with myself, I can remember when I grumped about the speed of change.
     All for equal rights, but slow down, Dr. King; don't push for so much, so soon. Okay, women, you deserve more rights, more respect, equal opportunity and pay, but back off a little and don't be so assertive.
     And what's with all these foreigners taking college classroom spaces in American colleges? My taxes help pay for state schools, so why should a kid from Bangla Desh take that last slot in a course my kids want to take. And why give them a bye on SAT scores or language requirements? Don't we have any immigration laws.
     America the Beautiful, I'm Proud to Be An American. God Bless the USA. America First.
     Yes, I know all about where the Tea Party folks live, because I came from there.
     But I can't help but notice that the young man who saved the life of Congress WOMAN Gabby Giffords was a Mexican American college intern. And the team of doctors at the hospital in Tuscon included a Korean American neurosurgeon.
     And the team of medical practitioners on her rehab team in Houston consists of an African American, two Asians, a woman, a Hispanic, and one white male.
     The people who put flowers and prayers and candles on the site at the hospital came in all ages, men and women, all colors and nationalities -- Americans and others, too.
     Just for good measure, I learned just recently that the heads of corporations like Google, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems and a few others that define modern life are Chinese Americans, Russian Americans, black Americans, white Americans, American Americans.
     Guess who helps make America first.
     God Bless the USA. I'm proud to be an American, where at least I can grow up a little as I grow older....