the gift he gave me was the nametag that said rubio, banquet bartender, a nametag like they give in the hotels. at that moment, i was reminded how this country had literally changed my family's very life. how not so long ago, it was my father who had stood behind a bar just like the one that gentleman stood behind in order to give me the chance to earn a better life. and how america made that possible. it was never easy. both my parents worked well until their retirement years. -- well into their retirement years. i remember when i was in high school, well past midnight on many nights, i would hear my father's keys jingling at the door as he came home from another long day of work. when you're young, the meaning of moments like that, they just escape you, but now as i get older and my children get older, i -- i think i understand that moment a little bit better. because like the man who gave me that nametag that night in new york, my -- my father was coming back from more than just another day at work. he was coming back from a day of fighting so that the doors that had closed for him w