Pointless, stateless state

Left to right. Jim, Elsie, Ramon, Charlotte in window reflected.

This is my son-in-law, Ramon. He was trapped is a burocratic catch-22 for most of his life. Born in the state of Jalisco, northern Mexico, with relatives on both sides of the US-Mexico border since the 1920's, he has spent all his life since a toddler in the states. A talented and entertaining person, he can keep up with all sorts of intellectual discussions and debates among the students at Washington University, St. Louis. He can supervise fast food workers and telemarketers. He can deal with wiley truckload brokers and health insurance administrators.

Since Ramon is a native English speaker, he is often called upon to be a bridge between his Spanish-speaking family and the Anglo world. This a common responsibility for the sons and daughters of immigrants, where the learn to deal with the world around them ahead of time.

Ramon went to American public schools and graduated from Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana. That is where he got to know my daughter Charlotte. They love each other and married back in 2006. They live in St. Louis now with their two dogs.



One would think that mariage would help cut the Gordian's knot of the US administrative maze. Not so fast. He is still trying to convince the state of Missouri to grant him a state ID.