r/over60

I was going to put this in the conversation, but I thought it deserved it's own post.

Quick establishing shot: small town in the West, Colorado. I'm wiped after a busy one, but I enjoyed the whole thing. <Warning- This is kind of long, I feel a need to emote a bit. Skip and you won't miss anything but some good feels.> The USA is not full of racist hate.

Saturday: I'm ready to worship at my usual fall Saturday temple. College Football. Several good games today. But that was not to be. I had a wedding to go to. Well not really a wedding. Indian weddings take about 4 days. This was a day 2 party, the actual wedding is today. It was a relatively small ceremony in the house just two down from me. It was actually a double ceremony as my friend's middle daughter had eloped earlier this year and his youngest was getting married. In some way I have made it all the way to this age and have never been to a Hindu ceremony even though I've known S'nell for 7 years and his family is mixed South Asian and South side irish. He has a huge family so the crowd was about half Indian relatives and half mongrel americans in the neighborhood. A large number of the whitebread crowd were wearing those beautiful Indian outfits. Their family has thrown Diwali and Holi parties before so a lot of the neighbors have those really cool clothes. His next door neighbors have 6 year old twins and they were dressed in those shirts, vests, traditional Indian garb. I thought that was the absolutely cutest thing I had ever seen.

I had to duck out for a couple hours to help set up a festival at my church (Catholic) that weekend. I got back in time for a meal you would kill for. You like Indian food? They had been cooking for days. I pigged out on Samosas with this green curry paste. There were no less than 3 Dr. Patels at the party and I got into a long conversation of Indian spices with him. Being a Hindu festival it was dry, but my wife and I are the designated partiers so I hoofed it 100 yards down to my house and brought back a case of wine (with the hostesses' approval) so we had neighbors sucking wine and the old Indian aunties tut-tutting.

It was not a large crowd as such things go, about 100. I looked and saw the United Colors of Benetton. Every skin shade you can think, from pasty white Irish folk to some pretty dark African Americans, and every shade of South Asian you can think of. One guy, a vague acquaintance and fiercely proud of his heritage was in full kilt and sporran.

A good time was had by all. I came home early as I was fading.

Sunday.

Had to get up dark 30 because I had early mass duty. Came home, changed clothes and went to the festival. For some reason I am considered a responsible person so I had the beer tent. Check IDs, stamp, pour beer. Now this festival is 99 and 44/100% percent Hispanic. I don't speak Spanish (dos cerveza por favor, Uno mas, De Nada, Donde es el baño. ? There, that's my Spanish. But a lovely woman Inez translated for me, and her even more stunning cousin helped. I was not unhappy. I sat and listened to live music (honestly I can only handle so much Norteno music. But there was other stuff. American Indian dancers, Ladies in those blinding colored dresses dancing. Some bluegrass (it is Colorado). I had to work, but incredible street food at booths, pony rides, a classic car show (those guys bought the majority of the beer I think) Hundred of volunteers, Hundreds of people eating and dancing. Many were the same people. A little 3 year old girl in a skirt and cowboy boots stole the "cutest thing" award from the twins of yesterday.

Again, this is a small community. This festival is helping pay for a new church built after the old one burned up. Everything is donated, no one makes money, the band is paid in comped food tickets which are actually worth it, the food is incredible. My friends on the finance side said they were struggling just to wrap and bag all the cash. This is a community that gives and helps.

So I write this entire boring thing simply to say that despite what read, hear on the interwebs there are places in the US where there is not racial, political, social tension. There are people being happy and living their lives, helping and supporting each other. Don't give up. That could be your home, just work toward it. It's not the them, it's the sum total of the us.