"The Children Are Our Future"
I know we all had a really lousy week, and by Friday afternoon I had just about had it (the rally helped a bit, but only a bit). Still, by dinner I was psyched again, and thought I'd share why.
Every year I do a few local "alumni" interviews for my alma mater. I had one on Friday, and the guy turned out to be a sweet shy geeky type. He was into math and science, secretary of the science club at school, etc. It turned out he had an after-school job, and as we discussed it, my jaw dropped. The kid worked for JDSU! The story was so heart-warming, and so pregnant with hope, that it made me feel some of the bubble's optimism all over again.
The guy had grown up in Romania, under the Ceaucescu dictatorship. His mother was an architect; his father had died early of cancer. An uncle had emigrated years before, and so a few years after the old regime fell, the mother and son joined him in New Jersey. The mother went back to school for some science training at the local community college, and eventually landed a job at Epitaxx. Less than a decade after their arrival in this country, she was heading up a CAD unit there, Epitaxx had been acquired by JDSU, and this bright young kid was doing programming for them after school.
From the worst of the former East Bloc to DWDM in the blink of an eye, propelled by nothing other than hope and grit and brains...hell, it put the last few months in perspective and reminded me of just how early in the revolution we really are, and how bright the future is likely to be if we can just hang on.
tekboy/Ares@bubbleboyshallreturnsomeday.pov |
