The Making of a Madam,a 20th Century Woman

THE TRIP

by

Dian Butler

            “Hurry Nick, we have to get on the road!”

            “Okay, Okay, did you put the water in the car?”

            “Yes, yes now let’s get going.”

The two Mexican Nationals had not seen their boys in three months and were excited.  They had a lot to tell her mother and the boys would be anxious to see them.  In the time they had been away from the two boys, the precious legal papers were given to them and they could stay in Downey in their rundown apartment.  Happiness was theirs now.  It had been a long time in coming.  Lilly was able to quit her job and Nick had been working for six months at the NUMMI plant and his future was bright.  Life was moving forward to becoming American citizens.

The shiny new red Toyota was a testament to their status as “almost, real Americans”.  The kids were Americans by birth, but these parents would have to go through the process.  Their English was pretty good and life would be full of English classes and studying for the exams. The future held hope for them to become citizens.  It was a far cry from the last 10 years of Lilly and Nick’s lives.  The struggle to live in the golden state of California was not as bad as some of their countrymen.  They had just come over the border by bus six months ago, after receiving the necessary papers to live and work in America.  They had waited five years for those papers and Nick had been given a job at the NUMMI plant, to assemble vehicles, by a relative who had now been in the country over 30 years.  He was their sponsor for citizenship. 

This was a different situation than her mother’s status in America.  Her mother did not like paperwork and had come into the country as a tourist ten years ago and just stayed.  Her mother thought of herself as just another Mexican in America and part of the hundreds of thousands already in the country.  Her mother went to church and the Catholic Church had supported her arrival and helped her get a job.   

Rosita's job was working with a maintenance company at night, so she did not have to learn English. That was the one thing different from Lilly and Nick.  They both loved the English language and wanted their children to only learn English and of course they would know their homeland Spanish language.  It was now time to pick up the boys and spend this Christmas with Lilly’s mom, Rosita.  She lived in an apartment complex that had lots of other Mexicans and so she blended in with the others.  Some neighbors had papers and some did not.  But that was all politics and it was now family time. 

The time of love and warmth and the boys were waiting for them. They were both four years old and Lilly had given birth to the twins on one of their many visits to her mom over the years.  Her and Nick had to keep going back and forth to Mexico to wait for papers and then finally the long wait in Downey while Nick worked.  The pay was good but after he had gotten his papers, he was going to have a big raise in hourly pay for the coming New Year. 

They were very happy.  The twins would now live permanently with them. They stayed away for the past six months because if things did not turn out well for them it would be too much for the boys to be torn from them.

Rosita had cared for the boys off and on with all their parents’ trips but after Christmas it would be the entire family living together. Not only were Nick and Lilly bringing the children home to Downey, they were also bringing her mother Rosita.

 Lilly was always amazed at how her mother was able to watch the boys and work and not be worried about her citizenship.  Rosita said to her, “Just blend in and no one asks you questions.  I work at night and stay out of the stores in the daytime.  At night you can shop for food and clothes.” Wal-Mart was her store of choice and she had found one open all-night.  Many of the workers spoke Spanish, so she was okay with the situation. 

            The stores were all filled with Christmas lights and displays for the sacred night. It would be Jesus’ birthday in a couple of days and Rosita was worried that her daughter and son-in-law would not make it up for the celebration.  The boys were excited about Santa Claus coming but with her meager salary she could not buy the presents that she knew they wanted to see under the tree.  They kept asking her about the presents at church and under the church tree.  They wanted to know if those were their presents.  She just would smile and say, “Your mommy and daddy are coming and they will bring you something and Santa Claus comes here in America”.  He will bring you a good Christmas. 

Rosita had just enough money to buy the food for the weekend.  Her backup plan was the church.  But she did not want to think of herself as poor.  The poor children would have a basket and toys, but she was too proud to give the names of her grandchildren.  She knew her daughter and Nick were working and could afford presents, so they were not poor.  Rosita liked putting her five dollars in the collection basket every Sunday.  She was known as a proud Mexican by many of her friends in the community.  Not one to take handouts. 

Then there were the ‘other’ Mexicans. The ones that felt California belonged to them. The new, “wannabe almost citizens”, and they were the Mexicans that would not follow the rules for citizenship. These Mexican nationals never signed up for welfare or other social programs in America. They never signed up for anything that was not formed by a Mexican, until they got into trouble. Then they found out that if they signed up for military service they could not only forgo a prison sentence but they would be able to become citizens; a peace offering for the reluctant men and women crossing the border, and a workable solution for them.

Some took the American government up on the offer of citizenship for service to the country and others just wanted to do their ‘time’ in prison. The American government had also used another tactic to encourage Mexicans to join the military. The Mexicans awaiting trial were taken into a room and shown a documentary about a fellow Mexican who had lived and died while being an American citizen. He died just a couple of years after making the film. All the people in the room were given the information about his dying.

This man had joined the military after being offered exactly what they had been offered. A sort of long shot at amnesty that a Mexican received if he or she lived through the military and any wars the military were then fighting.

The film showed a Mexican speaking in Spanish and English about his time as a soldier. There were other Mexicans in the film and they were possible new recruits. It was not a big Hollywood production. It was just him speaking about a time that he was in the Army and had saved lives. He was an unassuming man and just spoke as clearly as he could to the camera in front of him, looking occasionally at the men and women in front of him. He told about the day he battled for hours waiting for relief from the ensuing hordes of enemy coming at him and his small company. They were trapped for what seemed like days in a ravine; a ravine they could not get out of and they had to hold their position.

He spoke of his decision to reject orders and carry each man that was wounded out of the ravine and to the airfield where he had gotten through to someone working a radio and was told the coordinates where they would be picked up. He remembered the clearing. Then he spoke of how he had struggled while shooting at the enemy and killing many. How he had been wounded himself and did not feel the pain of the stinging bullets and shrapnel in his arms and legs. Finally, when bullets ran out he was using his bayonet to kill the enemy.

Singlehandedly he saved most of his company and then when everyone was onboard the helicopter he was hit one more time and the medics onboard pulled him in and off they went to the nearest medics. When he arrived they thought he would die. He was then sent to the United States for more surgeries. This Mexican man continued telling his story with now the full attention given to him by all the men and women present, on the film, deciding whether to join or go to prison.

For many years he was now an American citizen and hoped they would think about it too. He was told he was a hero. This was something he did not believe. Most of the heroes in his unit and other units had been given medals or papers of certification of their heroic acts. But he was a Mexican and someone that received his citizenship only by joining the military. No one cared he thought about his heroics and like many heroes he felt the real heroes were the men that died. The men he was unable to help.

One rather feisty young man asked him,

“So why are you trying to convince us to join?”

“I don’t care if you join today or go to prison. I am only here to tell you my story, so let me continue.”

Many of the men had come to him over the years to thank him for saving their lives. He was content with knowing they were grateful. It had now been over 20 years and the military phoned him one day to come to a ceremony. Because he was Mexican he did not think anything of the ceremony. He felt it was probably just one more time to let him know how grateful he should be for being allowed to become a citizen because of his military service.

The day arrived and he was asked to join the General on stage. The General was telling everyone what he had done so many years before in some country that he had trouble learning the language to order food when in the larger cities. The general had a small box in his hand the entire time and just kept looking at him directly in his eyes. This Mexican man was then given the box after the General opened it and within the box was the Congressional Medal of Honor; a medal that more times than not was given posthumously.

One Mexican sitting in the room had to ask what that medal was and why he and the others should care. The Mexican hero looked at him and the others in the room, taking his eyes away from the camera and said, “Because I am Mexican-American and I am telling you about a medal that is the highest honor a citizen can receive in this country when they go to war. I don’t care if you receive medals. I don’t care if you go to prison or the military. I just want you to be better than me.”

All the men and women looked at him and the ones in the audience on the film knew this was a challenge. Most of the young Mexicans in the film went over to the table and waiting people to enlist. The film did what was expected of it to do and when it ended and most of the new young Mexicans in the room went to the waiting tables to join the military. Mission accomplished. There would be new citizens soon from this aspiring military group.

Rosita had now finished making dinner, sitting down with her grandsons, and finally washing the dishes.  She gathered her grandsons by her in front of the little closet in their home where she kept a statue of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus cradled in her arms. She lit the single candle and together they said the prayers, the Our Father and Hail Mary. Then, with her hands together she asked that their mother and father join them soon and that their journey would be safe. Her hands came apart and she closed the closet door and began walking the boys to their bedroom to get ready for bed.

The front door opened and it was her daughter and son-in-law. The boys ran to them with their eyes fixed on the presents their parents were carrying. Christmas was in two days and their parents had made the trip safely. There was more than joy in everyone’s eyes. Speaking Spanish very quickly they told Rosita that they had their final papers and could now feel free to work and stay in America. Soon they would take the necessary tests. The entire process had been sped up by the fact they both had jobs and there was a new President and Congress and with the Senate approval had ‘Okayed’ a fast track to citizenship. Citizenship without going into the military was preferable for them. The fast track was working for many Mexicans and now for them.

The two went to the car and gathered up all the presents they had brought and their suitcases. They had carried some presents from other relatives with them and they brought those in and placed everything under the Christmas tree.

Rosita was very happy with the news and she went to the kitchen to make them some food. The boys went off to bed and her daughter and son-in-law settled in for the night after eating a late dinner of tamales. “Nothing like homemade tamales”, was Lilly’s thoughts.  Both of the “almost new” citizens sank into the couch to sleep after eating the heavy meal. The small apartment only had two very small bedrooms and no extra beds. The couch was their bed while visiting for Christmas.

Rosita was not going to forget her prayers and after everyone went to sleep she opened the little closet door where the Virgin Mary slept and she relit the candle. Her hands closed in prayer and she silently said, “Thank you God for allowing my daughter and her husband to become citizens. Thank you for my grandchildren. Thank you for my job. Thank you for our food.  Then as what seemed a letter to Jesus, Rosita said, “Thank you Jesus for my cousin and thank you that my son-in-law will not have to go to war and receive some medal that says some Congressional something on it that I do not understand. My cousin was a brave man and now he is with you and I am not sure what to do with this medal. Help me understand. I love you, Rosita.”