1958: A Year to Remember

To the readers of this book, I hope more than anything else you will enjoy reading these words, and come to understand a glimpse of what immigrants went through in order to come to America and belong—carrying with them their hopes and dreams of making a better life for their families, and of leaving behind their native land and loved ones. So many in the beginning sobbed and probably thought, What am I doing here? feeling lost in the new world in which they found themselves. I myself was just a child when I arrived in this country, so I didn’t experience the true feelings an adult might have. For me, it wasn’t a choice. But I will say that I’m so happy that the little guy with the fedora and the cigar had the guts to change his life—and ours, as well.