A story I heard and a photograph I took have bumped into each other in my head setting off a twisting train of thought. The story involved an Armenian man, who was troubled by the census form he was asked to fill out. He didn't know what box to check for race. Apparently, his skin is somewhat darker than "White," but he's not an "African-American." Neither is he "Native American" nor "Asian." Why, he wondered, couldn't we just check a box that labeled us all as Americans. Now I know bureaucrats and statisticians everywhere could explain why the "Race" demographic, (is that the right word?) is necessary. But I personally, think the Armenian-American, or shall I just call him an American, has a good idea.
Now, my train of thought jumped its track and landed on a beach in South Carolina, where I photographed two Amish or Mennonite girls playing in the surf. I didn't get particularly close, not wanting to invade their fun, but I was so touched by their play, that I had to have a picture. I had never seen Amish kids playing in the surf before, and they seemed to be so wonderfully out of place, so perfectly kid-like, even though they wore bonnets and long dresses rather than short shorts and hoodies.
So how does this train of thought get re-railed. For me, both the story and the photo are about the "alikeness" of everyone. And I like that.
I checked the "other" box and wrote in "American." I have some interest in where from my ancestors emigrated (some of them have interesting national dress and do funny dances), but don't understand why the federal government has any interest. "E pluribus unum" is our motto still - I think!
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