Sixteen years ago today -- a memory of kindness

I said a few words about this last year, but I wanted to recognize this day as the anniversary of my family becoming naturalized U.S. citizens. Sixteen years ago today, my parents stood in a crowded auditorium and took an oath. Because I was only 13 years old at the time, all I had to do was sit somewhere else and watch them and I automatically became a citizen along with them. There is not a whole lot I remember about it, but I do have a very vivid memory of us riding in our brown van through downtown San Antonio, Texas. We were nearing an intersection when a young blind man was trying to step off the curb to cross the street. He misjudged the distance off the curb and fell onto the street. My dad says he doesn't remember this, but I do -- I watched as my dad quickly put the van in park, jumped out and ran over to the man to help him up off the ground.

I don't remember a single word said by anyone that day, but my dad's actions still ring loudly in my heart.