No fishing for me today, but it was still a good day!

Woke up thinking, "Man, what a perfect day to be on the water...".  I knew that following my desire would mean an instant (possibly permanent) draining of my WAF account though, so instead I joined my wife for a drive down to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.

The 20 minute trip took 70 minutes, thanks to the hundreds of cars headed to our destination and the infinite wisdom of the city of San Jose, who opted to close one lane on Curtner for construction and failed to provide any traffic cops to help with the congestion. 

Upon arriving, my wife and I parted company.  I headed in the direction of the "guest" line, and she joined the other 3000 people who, like her, were about to be sworn in as American citizens. 

Her line was long, but moving fast.  My line, on the other hand...



Several of us near the last third of the line were keeping in touch with our loved ones via cell phone, and we realized after 30 minutes of not moving that the ceremony was starting and we weren't getting in.  It would have been nice if the DHS people had told us, but oh well.  Always the rebel, I led several people on a quest to sneak in (although I wasn't hopeful...after all, the interior of the place was swarming with security).

I tried the door where the media was parked, but they didn't buy my "I'm a reporter from NCKA.ORG" line...



Eventually I found a back door that, while guarded, allowed me to see inside.  It was even in the section where my wife was seated, although I didn't see her right away.



My roost was temporarily disturbed when ABC came out the door to conduct an interview with one of the speakers, who I believe was a congresswoman or something, about Russia invading Georgia.  I thought about standing right behind them to get on the air, but since I wasn't wearing my "NCKA" or "I Support 2-XA" tshirt, I opted to step back.



They wrapped up the interview and headed back in, allowing my to resume my post just in time to see the color guard...



...and watch the swearing in ceremony.





After being sworn in everyone took a seat for yet another speech, and I actually found my wife in the crowd!  I zoomed in and got a grainy shot that I'm sure she'll cherish forever... 



Then came the national anthem & pledge of allegiance, which was led by an Armenian volunteer from the audience.



My wife said "That's the first time I've sung the national anthem of the United States."  I told her that, as a new citizen, she was required to sing it at least once a week.  I recommended that she do so in the shower.  She accused me of not even knowing the words, and I shocked her by starting to sing.  Hey, I guess I remember something from grade school after all!

After another long wait, everyone was finally let out to enjoy their new citizenship and fight the traffic getting out of the lot.  I took a picture of my newly-naturalized sweetie, and then we went to Johnny Rocket's for burgers and Coke floats...as American as it gets!



It wasn't a day on the water, but I wouldn't have traded it for a trip on the Islander. 

That citizenship test should be given to all natural born citizens every few years.  I was in Jr High when my Mom became a citizen and the test even then was no joke.  Congrats to your wife.

Eugene

Congrats to you both, it is a big deal, one we natural born citizens should keep in mind more often.

dale