A little boy taught me that there’s more to politics than being Republican or Democrat.
Tyler is my grandson, and at the time of this story he was 4 years old. He is a little guy, but has tremendous wisdom on the world around him.
Back on Nov. 1, 2008, the Saturday before the presidential elections, Tyler and I were heading home from shopping and as he was sitting in his car seat, he noticed people walking on the sidewalk with signs. He asked me, “Grandma, what do their signs say?”
I answered, “The sign says, ‘Obama for president.’ ”
He then asked, “What is Obama?” So I answered him with the story of two men who were running for president. One was the Republican nominee and the other was the Democratic nominee. I told him that the following Tuesday, all Americans would vote, and one man would win and lead our country.
Once we got home, I turned on the TV and changed the channel to CNN. Tyler started to color in his coloring book.
CNN showed several debate clips from both Obama and McCain. When they showed one of Barack Obama’s daughters at the Democratic National Convention, Tyler asked if Obama had a little girl. And I answered, “Yes.” Then he asked if McCain had a little girl, and I answered, “No, he has a big girl.”
Then came the big question. “Grandma, is Obama chocolate?” I was not sure what to think, so I answered, “Yes.” The next question was, “Grandma, is McCain vanilla?” I answered, “Yes.”
While I waited for the next question, I wondered if he would ask me what flavor I was. What would I answer, since I am a Mexican-American? What flavor would I be?
So I asked him, “Tyler, what are you?” and he proudly answered, “Grandma, I’m vanilla.” I then asked Tyler if he could vote for the president, who would he vote for?
He thought for awhile, and then answered, “I would vote for Obama.” Why? He looked me in the eyes and said, “Grandma, I would vote for Obama because I like chocolate better than vanilla.”
I started to laugh and thought about how simple he made it.
On Election Day, Tyler viewed many people standing in lines waiting to vote as his mother drove him to day care. That night, around 8:30, my little guy called with excitement in his voice. “Grandma, are you watching TV? Obama won and he is going to be our president. Grandma, do you see all the people in the park?”
“Yes, Tyler, I see all the people in the park,” I responded.
“Grandma, all those people in the park like chocolate better than vanilla, too,” he said.
At that moment, I knew our lives would never be the same.
It was a joyous day in our family as Tyler and his great-grandpa watched this historic event and shared a birthday celebration. Great Grandpa “Cundo” turned 80, and Tyler turned 5.
Tyler is a lucky boy. He lives in America. He can be “vanilla” if he wants, goes to a school where English and Spanish are spoken, and has best friends named Dominic and Luz Maria.
He has a great-grandpa who served in the Army and fought in the Korean War. He has a great-grandma who was born during the Great Depression. He also has a grandfather who served for 22 years in the Marine Corps.
And Tyler has a grandma who finally believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, “I have a dream.” It was 41 years ago, on my 10th birthday, April 4, 1968, when I had wanted to celebrate the day with cake, ice cream and family. But instead, my mother sat me down to watch that tragic day.
Who knew that one day would lead to many years of volunteering for equality in education for all children and finally the reality of “I have a dream”?
Susan A. Garcia lives in Commerce City. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column.
