Always Say Hello and Much Will Be Well

Robert Ronnow
The Imaginary i

Always Say Hello and Much Will Be Well

Cousin Danny wants out of Houston, TX.
He says too many Blacks and Mexicans, esp.
after Katrina brought refugees from New Orleans.
He says you can see vans unloading illegal immigrants
at shopping centers and no one does anything about it.
He wants to find a place that’s still warm but with fewer
black and brown people. He says he’s seen people sweep
garbage out of cars into the street and no one does anything about it.

I told Danny about my plan to build many Ellis Islands
along the southern border where companies certified as
unable to hire American workers can recruit immigrant labor.
Immigrants with some number of years of employment
without felonies could become citizens.
Remember, grandpa was an immigrant when Italians
were considered dirty, lazy or criminals. Now look at us!
Immigration is America’s ace in the hole. Danny’s skeptical.

I didn’t say we annexed most of Mexico including Texas
almost 200 years ago. Where would that get me, what’s done
is done. But secretly I’ve been thinking there’s some justice
in the quote illegal flow of immigrants across the Rio Grande.
And much beauty in the culture of the evolving southwest.
Oh, well, what do I know. It was good to see Danny at Aunt Ro’s
funeral. We don’t have to agree on everything. But enough of us
have overcome poverty and achieved success to believe it’s possible.