Paradoxically, I was born a citizen, but I am an immigrant to the United States, having crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary before my sixth birthday. That grand dame was the first ship I ever boarded that was not captained by my father. Just 5 feet, 8 inches tall on a good day, Dad somehow loomed larger than he was, especially on the bridge of the cargo ships with salty decks and rocking bunkrooms that served first as my cradle and then as my schoolyard prior to our move to the states. The earliest visage of my father is of him standing tall on that bridge, with scrambled eggs and rain slickers, navigating his cargo, his crew, and his family through gale-force winds and ship-sinking seas.
Strong. Confident. In charge.
Contine reading in the Orange County Register.