Rushan Perera: American Citizen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were celebrating Independence Day, The Blonde Bear Tavern’s Mixologist and Wine Manager, Rushan Perera, became an American citizen.  A native of Sri Lanka, Rushan officially became an American, participating in a ceremony held at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, NM.

Our hearty congratulations, Rushan.  We’re proud to call you a fellow citizen.

Do you take your American citizenship for granted, perhaps because you happened to be born here?  My ancestors entered the United States through Ellis Island and witnessed the Statue of Liberty when they arrived.  This  sonnet, written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus, appears on a bronze plaque at its pedestal:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”