Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/404977
Thanksgiving In honor of the holiday, a few NEWLY MINTED CITIZENS share what it means to be an American. By Stephen J. Lyons Illustration by Phil Foster Thanksgiving 1st O citizen, Tao "Mandy" Chun Smith walks slowly up the white stairs of the Old State Capitol in Springfi eld, Illinois, thinking: I am fi nally going to accomplish the fi nal step of naturalization. The Taiwanese native, who has lived in Quincy, Illinois, for the past 14 years, feels calm, centered and relaxed. She wears her fi nest white dress, and her husband and 12-year-old son, both named Eric, sport pressed shirts and ties. A girlfriend gives her an American-fl ag balloon. Indoors, Darren Iozia, from nearby Jacksonville, fi nds his assigned seat in the second-fl oor legislative chambers of the reconstructed Greek Revival building, famous as the site where Abraham Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech in 1858. Iozia, born in England, looks dapper in an elegantly tailored suit, but as he waits, he has a few nervous moments — not so much out of fear, but out of the anticipation of completing a goal. "It's a long process to become a U.S. citizen, and I found myself rushing through it, but in taking a deep breath, I slowed down and took in what was happening. I'm going to be an American. I'm going to be o cially A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY N OV E M B E R 2 01 4 8 5