I met her in a bar.

 03.15.18 8:45ish

I was waiting in a bar, having a beer, for my E-6 to be processed half block up at The New Lab.  DanO, The New Lab guy that had the company slush fund credit card in his wallet comes into the bar with a young woman.

This is an early afternoon at The Utah on Bryant St.

DanO and Josephine sit down next to me.
Josephine just moved to San Francisco to become a photographer but first she needs to be an assistant to a photographer.
She's from England.

We talk for a bit, DanO gets up to have a cigarette and whispers something in Josephine's ear and walks out.
"What'd DanO say?"
"You're one of the big photographers in San Francisco and I am supposed to ask you for a job."

Which she did and I hired her.

She assisted me until an ad agency hired her, quickly moved up to Art Director and strangely enough became my boss.

She needed a Visa...not the credit card type, the allowed to be in the USofA type of Visa.  The agency job was starting that process.

She couldn't take the agency life anymore and quit but still needing a Visa I hired her back full time.
Not really, but let's just pretend I hired her back full time.

 That was a long long time ago that the sponsorship started.   What was it, Jo?  18 years ago?

A marriage to an American...very very nice man I must say, and a couple of kids later.... I was no longer needed for the Visa.

Where is this heading?

This morning she swears to do the stuff above.  A couple things especially are a bit strange sounding to me in the Oath, but whatever.  Today was the day for her to become an American citizen

The applicants standing in line to receive official instructions.  The MC of the proceedings later tells them that will be the last time they ever need to stand in an immigration line.  From here on out it's "US Citizen Line"

 I spot Jo's husband, Jay with the two boys looking a bit frazzled.  They were just getting there as things were about to begin.

You know I went in fairly cynical but for whyever, the tears started to flow.  It was beautiful to hear the names of all the countries represented today, even some that no longer exist because for some the process had been so long.  The names of 83 countries.  1085 people (there was another ceremony this afternoon as well.)
It felt pretty good.

A young woman got up to speak to tell them how to go about getting their passports.  From the official passport office.
She said it was her first time at a citizen ceremony speaking and to go easy on her speech.
Three words in and she's crying.
She had watched her grandmother take the oath to become a citizen.  She had a second grade education.
"And me, well I was given a full scholarship to UC Berkeley."
She made her point through her tears pretty good.
Other speakers were on point too.  A real feel good point.

All 1085 standing (you can't see them) as they recite the Oath.

As is custom in the Bay swearing in, they ask for a volunteer from the newly minted U.S. Citizens to come onto stage and lead the Pledge Of Allegiance.  A young man from Afghanistan volunteered.  His friends were sitting right in front of me and they were shocked it was him.  They all sounded English as their first language to me.

And so it was over.

This guy maybe didn't have any family or friends to see him.  A selfie with his new flag.

Jay takes our photo.  Josephine's mother had flown in from London, she's with the kids already.

Jay tells me, he walked out before the ceremony was over.  The second to the last thing in the ceremony was a video from trump and he wouldn't/couldn't listen or watch.  I said I turned my head away.  The words though, boy, I couldn't get out of hearing the words and what a bunch of fucking shit they were.  You should be ashamed trump.


Well, we Americans do love to sell stuff.  $20 a pop for the Oath.  I'm not sure who they were selling to, I assuming the newbies got theirs in the ceremony and I for one would never utter such nonsense that's written there.

Two friends with a new citizen.

I was her boss until she became my boss then back to me being boss and now after all these years she's back to being my boss.  Hires me sometimes to shoot for a startup that she works for.  Even had a international shoot from her.
All from having a beer in a bar and being open to the door to the Utah being opened.