My collection of accents on the campaign trail grew today, as we spoke with Jimmy (names changed). He’s a Louisianan with a Cajun brogue so thick I ended up asking him to repeat his words several times as he shared his story.
(Gotta admit, I purposefully kept plying him with questions just to hear that comforting down-South dialect.) At the young age of 10, Jimmy’s mamma died and he went off to live with his grandmother. His school education ended after 2nd grade, but I can attest to the fact that Jimmy is no slouch when it comes to knowledge of the issues. He spoke about his many years working on tug boats in the Gulf of Mexico, and then later shrimping for a commercial outfit. Jimmy knows fish like I know coffee! He’s worked hard, very hard, most of his life until a disability left him struggling physically and without a job. He shared his believe that in today’s society, members of the middle class are losing ground. Wages have not kept pace with increases in costs of living. Before we left him, Jimmy promised some authentic Cajun gumbo after the election!
We also met Tony, a second generation Italian-American. Tony is a widower in his 80s, busy volunteering and keeping his yard in pristine condition. We told Tony about our first visit overseas to Italy last Christmas and his eyes lit up. He’s been there several times, and while he doesn’t speak Italian, he cooks Italian! His garden is full of the tomatoes he uses for his once-a-week batch of spaghetti (5 hours simmering on the stove-yummm). Although Tony didn’t have any pressing concerns to present to Art, he spoke about the value in diversity of cultures within the community, especially language and cuisine. Tony loves Italy and Cedar Rapids…and we do, too!
Cajun gumbo, Italian pasta…once again we were famished after a busy day campaigning, so we enjoyed a scrumptious Indian dinner at Taste of India! It’s true, “variety IS the spice of life” : )
View more of Susan’s Facebook posts by clicking here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/susan.staed
