July 4th, 2011 finds us in Lauderdale Marine Center out by I-95 on the New River in Fort Lauderdale FL USA. We are still commissioning BEAR, getting her ready for our new life together.
July 4th is an important day for us. Our son Chris was born on July 4th and because the United States is our chosen country, we feel a special pride on Independence Day as our country celebrates it’s break with British rule, just like we broke with Canada when we chose the United States, over all other countries, when choosing our future and new home.
It’s not easy to immigrate to the United States, legally. Not only are there emotional hurdles as you rip up the roots driven deep into the soil of your home town but there are numerous emotional moments as you realize that the system is set up to make your immigration difficult and challenging. It’s almost like the United States doesn’t want you to succeed and you are left with the feeling that you are not wanted. For me, I look at obstacles between me and a goal as devices to test my commitment to my goal, so it’s a lot easier to rally the tenacity to keep on keeping on.
There are costs. Every application has a fee and if you are going to progress through the system smoothly, it is prudent to employ a good Immigration Attorney. You can spend a lot of money on attorneys that won’t further your cause either through incompetence or as a strategy to bleed you of your funds. There seems to be no end to the people with their hands out wanting your money.
It took us over a year to gain access to a legal home in the States. It took us seventeen more years to gain citizenship. We spent a lot of money on lawyers and application fees but in the end, it was worth it; we became proud American citizens.
When we purchased BEAR, we had the option of flagging her off shore and saving a lot of tax. In a previous life BEAR was Pause and was flagged in the British Virgin Islands where there is no sales tax on boats. We had spent so much treasure and effort becoming Americans, that I wanted to fly our flag, the Stars and Stripes. We purchased BEAR in the United States and paid $18,000.00 for the honor to fly the American flag. I’m glad that we did that.
Our flag goes up today, July 4th, 2011 and I will feel pride in what our flag stands for and what it says about our commitment to our chosen country.
May God bless America!
Happy birthday Chris!