Categories: Out Among Humans

WE ARE NOTHING HERE ( IN AMERICA)

Just Your Average 68-Year-Old College Freshman.


“My husband and I are nothing here, we are nobody.”

She’s a middle-aged nursing student. She wanted our group to see an e-mailed photo of her former workplace. She had been a surgical somebody in Bucharest for 28 years. (Notice the bone structure of the patient.)

People leave vital parts of themselves behind. Language, wit and social savvy don’t always travel well. People have to unlearn things. “I shouldn’t bribe cops?” Many have to settle on a lower rung on life’s organization chart, at least for a time.

She never believed the streets of America were paved with gold (nobody does anymore she said) but there were persistent rumors about opportunities. That was enough to catch her attention.

Pat Shiplett

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Pat Shiplett

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