Posted on 01/07/2007 1:51:52 PM PST by Hostage
I married 14 years ago and just had my firstborn, a son, this past September.
I met my wife in medical school. She was originally from Lithuania and when I met her she was on a H1-B visa working as an adjunct professor of internal medicine.
She had made significant contributions to medical science and had been asked to lecture at med school for the year. That was 16 years ago in the afterglow of the world of Ronald Reagan. She became a naturalized US citizen in 1996.
We've had a real love affair ever since but children did not come easy for us and we had given up hope the year before last when suddenly our prayers were answered with a 'miracle'. There were no fertility treatments, nothing artificial, just natural in its occurance but unexpected.
The birth of our son has been a joy without limit and it continues to be so. But prior to knowing of the miracle to come we had lived for years in despair (most couples with fertility problems will know exactly what I am talking about).
During those years of despair there was one other person whose despair seemed greater than our own, that was my wife's mother who still lives with her family in Lithuania. She wanted so badly to be a grandmother. She prayed and prayed and prayed. When my wife would call her on Sundays, her mother would always cry and it always fell to my wife to calm her down. This constant weeping, in addition to our own despair, was more than we could take and as a result my wife began to look for excuses not to call her mother.
News of the coming arrival of our son made my wife's mother a changed person. She wanted to come immediately but my wife's father has a herniated disc and cannot move unless heavily dosed with painkillers. We are trying to save money to get for him an operation that we hope will give him many years of freedom to move his body. He would also like to see his grandson.
But grandmother was able to get her sister and her son to look after grandfather while she travels to the US to see her blessed treasure, her grandson.
So we bought her a roundtrip ticket on Scandinavian Airlines and she connected in Copenhagen before setting foot in Seattle last night.
Her son had taken her to the US consulate last week to make sure her visa was in order. As she does not speak English, he wrote her a note (he is fluent in English and works as an IT professional throughout Europe) to present to customs that she was traveling to see her grandson and numbers to call if there were any problems. On the note he wrote our names, address, telephone numbers. He also gave her a cell phone and called me the day before she left to make sure I had her cell number.
Last night grandmother was making her way through customs and we were outside waiting for her with our 3 month old son. We were waiting a longtime when suddenly my cell phone rang and it was a customs official telling me that they needed to contact the daughter of a person they were holding. Knowing they were referring to my wife's mother I said "no problem, her daughter is right here waiting with me" and I handed the phone to my wife.
The customs official asked my wife to talk to her mother and to tell her to answer the questions they were asking her. My wife said she does not speak English and asked what questions did they have for her. They said to ask her if she had any cigars, weapons and so on in her possession. My wife was then put on the phone with her mother and repeated what the customs official had asked. They then let grandmother go.
Grandmother came up an escalator into the international baggage claim area with tears in her eyes and she at once saw me, then my wife and the baby. I thought the tears were of joy but my wife later told me they were tears of fear, fear that customs was going to send her back to Lithuania. But there were also tears and smiles of joy as grandmother and grandson immediately fell in love.
Here's the story and the reason we are "fed up".
Customs had asked grandmother a series of questions and she could not answer. She kept telling them "no English, no English" but they took her out of line and then called for a detail to escort her to a retention room, a room that was according to grandmother a long long way through many doors and up and down many floors. In this room they made her strip to her bra and panties and would not allow her to make any phone calls. She was left in this room crying when the customs lady called us on my cell phone.
She was let go out of the retention room but no one escorted her back to the customs line. She had no idea where she was and how to get back to where she was, in other words she was lost. I haven't asked yet how she found her way out because she is bonding with her long awaited grandchild and I don't want to spoil the happiness we all have now by pressing her for details.
Today she is doting on her grandson and both are all smiles. But her impression of America or at least Seattle SeaTac airport is forever a memory of fear.
I asked her if things went well when connecting in Copenhagen and she said "Copenhagen good, Seattle no good".
Another poster just mentioned the existence of 'escort' passes. Seriously we did not know of them.
She had a cell phone given to her by her son. She had all the numbers to call and was told to call if there were any problems. But they took her phone away from her. But at least they called me and we were able to get her released. But we just didn't think there would be a problem is the bottomline.
When we have passed through customs before we have never had a problem, so we didn't expect one for grandmother. She really is a sweet little old lady. How anyone could think she was harmful is beyond reason.
I've heard of grannies getting pulled out of line and 'wanded' and so on. I too have been scanned and asked about my laptop.
But this was different. She's a foreigner, she doesn't speak the language. We are civilized people and we should do more to welcome people to our great country. The least we could do is put in speaker phones with speed dials to 24/7 interpreters, the same that you see in hospital ERs.
But now thanks to a poster here I am aware of escort passes and believe you me I will be looking into those passes on the next go-round.
65. She is a little hunched over now and has alot of grey hair covering what used to be blond. She has fair skin and a very kind face. She looks as far as one can imagine from anything evil or suspicious.
Unfortunately they wouldn't allow me out on the concourse to meet them. I only found out later when we finally met up.
Appaloosa, a horse of all colors that supports strength with leadership!
And beautiful creatures that they are...they are usually the most popular.
The buck has to stop somewhere and I put it directly on the desk of President Bush. He nominated Moron Mineta to head the DOT and has made no effort to reverse that mistake.
Life's a b!tch and then one comes to America.....
Why, oh why, aren't the "way of life disgruntled" leaving and not coming back?
Obviously life is better outside of the good 'ol USA.
To show such disrespect for America, in my opinion, makes you the "imbecile". Don't like it? Nobody is forcing you to stay!
When you think about it, would their actions be so different if they had, in fact, been infiltrated and taken over by foreign powers who's interest and goals are quite different then that of the American citizens?
A day late and a dollar short...Better luck next time!
Are you still going to get Grandma's picture taken?
Rofl Thanks I needed a laugh. Now if you could deliver one to me I could get all my anger out on someone besides my husband.....efg
Thanks for the laughs... I am not having the best of nights here...But you have me laughing. I wanted to try water boarding here.... When you are done just ship him over if he doesn't do a good job mowing.
I don't like to think little old ladies will be treated rudely ... Treating people rudely doesn't make America look good and enough of the world hates us as it is.... But we don't know who is a terrorist plain and simple. She shouldn't have been stripped to her undies , they could have put the wand over her. Its a good thing she didn't have a heart attack or something..... What does have me angry is that recently I read on FR of the airlines making employees take courses in dealing with the Muslims who might be praying since so many were going to be flying to Mecca..... Maybe they need to give them courses on how to be polite when handling elderly people too.......Yes life goes on......~~Pandora~~
I have to watch him like a hawk - he keeps trying to fly my LawnMaster into the side of my house...
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