OFF TO PARADISE

I first viewed Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue introducing THE RAISE ACT, S1720 on August 2, 2017. The protocols triggered deja vu moments back to my own arrival into the Port of Honolulu in 1960. My mechanical engineer father with a specialist of plastics injection molding machinery and accepted under the Industrial Necessity Act for skills that were needed in the United States. But wait, believe it or not, the position had to be offered to an American first. The company in Honolulu has suffered not one, but two, unsuccessful hires as plastics plant manager. Otherwise I seriously doubt our Permanent Resident Visa would have been processed within a few months.

When we arrived into the newly christened 50th State of Hawai'i it was not even a year old; then America was the envy of the world.

I share my first impressions of America, then a wide eyed Kiwi Kid,. Super markets today are widespread across the globe, but not then, and not in west Auckland .

I'm not merely tripping down memory lane, it is a plea to those disheartened by their careers, my father was very frustrated with his in NZ; to take the leap of faith, to attend industry events and to remain open, but prepared for unexpected good fortune to come your way. My father's career changed forever when he attended his very first Society of Plastics Engineers annual meeting held in New York City.

For the first time in years, I see a return to the vibrance of a country my engineer father fell Heels over Heels in love with in the midst of the Broadway Show "Gypsy" as mezzo-soprano Ethel Merman was belting out "Everything coming up Roses for you and for Me!"

I moved back to NZ in 2004, saddened by a country I hardly recognized anymore. That's all changing for the better, but drew so close to the edge of the cliff.

Dettagli