Today a new President has been sworn into office. This means many things to many people.
But as a proud father and now grandfather, I have always known that my children were able to rise to do whatever their hearts would lead them to do. Simply by the virtue of being born white.
As a coach of young teenagers years ago, I was giving a pep talk about how we can do anything we put our minds to. One of my players had his head down, and I asked him what was wrong. He looked at me and said, that because he was black, he did not feel he had the same opportunity as the white kids. I was disheartened that before he had begun his life, he already felt limited.
But, over 4 years ago, my oldest son Michael, fell in love with a beautiful girl from the Virgin Islands. Now, I challenge all reading to deal with that moment. Inter racial relationshiips have a history of having difficulty, and society is not allways kind.
I will say that I, and my family, did welcome Alesha into our hearts, and one day the news came that a child was 
expected. I remember thinking back to the experiences of mixed race children, and vowed that our grandchild would never know anything but love and kindness in our family.
But there were always fears as to how the rest of the world would treat my little buddy, Aiden Norvell.
So, when Barrack Obama, another mixed race child, rose to the top of the ticket, I felt a joy that the world would be a better place for the children that would have an opportunity to follow in his footsteps.
So today, I definately am proud to be an American, and proud to be in a country that will judge by ones qualities and achievments, not the color of the skin.
While my little grandson Aiden does not yet understand the importance of this event, I am proud to know that in his lifetime that the wallsof ignorance have been finally broken and that there are no limitations on his life, loves, or dreams.
