The American Dream

The American Revolution was the insurrection fought which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies threw off British rule to establish the sovereign United States of America, founded with the Declaration of Independence.  On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, making Independence Day our nation’s official birthday!  On September 9, 1776, Congress adopted a new name for what had been called the United Colonies, and the moniker United States of America has remained since then as a symbol of freedom and independence to the entire world.

My grandma had an old traveling trunk in her bedroom, and we would go through it sometimes.  The things in there were treasures to me.  One of the coolest things she had was the papers from when her parents came here from Czechoslovakia.  I loved our talks about her growing up (she was born in 1886), and her stories were the best.  She lived in a time we can’t even imagine now.

Our great country was built by immigrants who moved here to be free and make a better life for their family.  They came here, learned our language, studied hard to take the test, and then took the oath to become an American citizen.  They brought with them a variety of crafts, along with different foods from their homelands, a lot of those I’m sure we all enjoy still today.  We still have immigrants coming here today, doing it the way they did way back then.  This is a story about one of those immigrants.

Our friend Nora Tara was at our wedding last year and recently we got to learn more about her story and all the struggles and triumphs she has gone through coming to the US.  It hasn’t been easy.  She left her homeland to come to a place where she couldn’t even speak the language, to work and build a life, for her and her family.

Growing up in Romania, Nora went to college, but their system is not like ours.  She majored in Romanian Language (like an English teacher here), but after graduating, she taught math and chemistry.  Because of her education, she was able to put her name in a lottery to be able to migrate here, and in 1998, she won the chance for her and her husband, and son Andrei, to come to the US.

When she arrived in the United States, all she knew how to say was “hi” and “bye,” but she learned English and worked hard to make the most of her opportunity.  She started out babysitting for $3.50 an hour.  Her second son Alex was born here, and then she worked at an assisted living facility to pay for her nursing school.  After graduation, she went to work as a newborn nurse, and was at that job for 18 years.  With this job she felt she did her duty to society, but I think she did more than that helping take care of what had to be hundreds of babies over those years.

Nora has always worked at least two jobs – sometimes three – to live the American dream and put money away to have a good retirement when that time comes.  When her son turned one, she studied and got her real estate license to go along with her nursing degree.  After a couple of interviews with real estate companies, she found a company that offered her a job.  When she asked about her obligations and the compensation, she said it was a long laundry list of work for 50/50 compensation.  Shocked, she refused the job, and the following week went back to school for her broker license.  After finishing that program in just three months, Nora opened her own company called O’Tara Realty.

Most of her clients are family, friends, coworkers, doctors, and nurses.  They appreciate her honesty and true professionalism.  Nora has worked hard to build a reputation that communication will not get cut off once the deal is done, and every one of her clients, if they weren’t friends before the deal, are her friend after the deal is done.

Fast forward to four years ago, when a friend was telling her how hard it was to drive a truck, and he went so far as to bet her $1,000 that she couldn’t do it.  Needless to say, this friend lost a $1,000.  Back to school Nora went, this time to learn how to drive a truck.  After graduating, she began driving hot shot loads for a very short time, but this kind of trucking was not for her.  Nora went out with a friend and trained for ten days, then he hired her and sent her out on her own.  Her boss told her, “You can scratch your truck, but don’t scratch anyone else’s truck!”  To this day, she has not scratched anyone else’s truck.  She jokingly told me that her trucks have all been boys, and she names them all.

She will be forever grateful to her boss Trofim who put his trust in her when everyone else denied her as a newbie driver.  He proved to be an even greater human being after her accident, when she and her truck got blown over in bad winds in Nevada.  She ruined his vacation in Italy and, as it should be, he was more worried about her and not the truck and trailer.

Her first truck was a Volvo, and she named him Jake, because it just suited him.  She named her second truck, an old International, Brutus – he was reliable.  Next came Charlie, a blue Volvo who she said, “Gave his life to save hers.”  Last December, out in Nevada, was when Charlie and Nora got blown over in strong winds.  Now she drives a red International she named Alvin.  He got his name because Nora thinks he looks like Alvin from the chipmunks, because of the cowcatcher on the front, that looks like Alvin’s glasses.

Sharing her travels in pictures on Facebook with friends here and back home in Romania, Nora is the kind of person who stops and smells the roses, and then shares their sweet smell with so many who will never get to see the places she gets to go.  Her sons and daughter-in-law Tisha are her world, so getting home for special occasions and spending time with them is important.  She makes sure that she will be there, and her boss works with her to make sure that happens as often as possible.

Andrei went to school for medicine, is now married, and is a nurse.  Alex is a student studying accounting.  He helps his mom with her real estate business, which she still has today.  I asked her how she could show houses and be on the road at the same time, and she told me that Alex is her assistant, so he can help her by showing the houses.  A lot is done virtually, these days, and she has to handle all the closings, but most of that can be done online now.

This very educated woman worked hard to make sure that her sons would have the education they need to be successful.  When I asked her if she’s happy she came here to the United States, her reply was a resounding, “Yes!”  Nora said, “If you try hard enough and work hard enough, you can achieve your dreams.”  Nora Tara is living proof that the American dream is alive and well for those still willing to work for it.