Maria, co-grandmother

I had dinner tonight with my co-grandmother, Maria; Seth and his partner Cristina, Maria’s firstborn daughter; and Bella and Evan. Maria arrived on Christmas evening and is leaving tomorrow. We all met in an Indian restaurant, where I was able to grab a few quick photos before our food arrived. 

The stupid border wall is visible from Maria’s house, and she is concerned for the many legal immigrants who are her co-workers, who have been living and working in the USA for many years, who have children and have labored their whole lives here paying taxes and contributing to this country. They are US citizens, and many of their ancestors once lived and worked on the land that is now called Arizona, before there ever was an Arizona dominated by settler colonizers. But the incoming President is constantly tossing threats around about getting rid of immigrants, legal and otherwise. Mostly we talked about what she and the family have been doing together this week.

They saw Wicked; they made a great many delicious tamales; they went shopping; she spent quality time with our grandchildren without a lot of other things going on. They went to the art museum to see the display of Paul McCartney’s photographs and psychedelic rock posters and fashions (which the kids found unbearably boring, and which Bella thought were from the 80s because that’s as far back in history as she can imagine). 

Seth told us his Paul McCartney stories—how humble McCartney is, how friendly, how undemanding (unlike a great many other stars). Seth worked with McCartney about seven years ago, had some conversations with him, then saw him again at the Grammys a few years later. Seth was walking down a hallway lined with A-list celebrities; he had his arms full of equipment and was preoccupied when McCartney and his entourage floated down the hall and McCartney recognized Seth and stopped to talk with him. Seth was surprised and amused by the fact that some of the celebrities were trying to figure out if Seth was someone they should also know.