My American Dream - July 4th Independence Day

The American Dream is alive and well this 4th of July. My life is just one of many stories of the ongoing strength of the American Dream. I was born in St Francis Hospital in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. I was the second and youngest son of two Irish immigrants who came to American in 1928 in search of a better life. My dad enlisted and served in WW II and made his own personal contribution to freedom and America.
I lived in the pictured apartment building - 400 E 141st St for eighteen years during the worse years the Bronx experienced. We were poor and got poorer when my dad died when I was four years old. My mother raised us and it's funny I never wanted for anything and didn't really realize how poor we were. I loved my neighborhood and I had a fun childhood with many good friends that I'm still in touch with to today. But life wasn't easy and I quit school when I was fifteen and it took me a long time to discover how to create a successful life. I had no successful role model. But I eventually figured it out and I did create a successful life and the opportunities were always there. I just needed to find them and put in the work to make it happen.

There are so many American success stories I could highlight today but because I grew up in the South Bronx I will just note some of the many Bronx success stories. You may be familiar with some or all of the following individuals who grew up in the Bronx and went on to create successful lives. They are all different and yet they have their Bronx roots, their participation and their contribution to the American Dream in common.

Colin Powell
Jennifer Lopez
Danny Aiello
Tony Curtis
John Patrick Shanley
Dion
Chazz Palminteri
Cuba Gooding Jr
Al Pacino
Sonia Sotomayer
Nate Tiny Archibald
Willie Colon
Regis Philbin
Geoffrey Canada
and many more......

There are also many, many others who while never becoming famous created successful lives, successful families and lived the American Dream. And to take off on an idea by Roger Simon, America and the American Dream wasn't just shaped by the great deeds of great men and women but was also shaped by the great deeds of ordinary men and women.

So today and in the future no matter how difficult things may appear or become let us not forget we all have been given a gift and we are blessed and we must make our contribution to make it even better. So this July 4th let's also celebrate the American Dream and continue to pass it on to the next generations.......

John Duffy