Some days I remember to be thankful for the tolerant culture I live in. Some days I remember how much more tolerant California is. Today I was at the post office. I was waiting to pick up some mail and was standing near the desks where clerks were handling passport applications. A man was getting extremely frustrated about the paperwork and records he would need to fulfill his passport request and said, rather loudly, to the clerk, who was of Chinese origin, “I can’t believe this! My family has been in this country for over 200 years!!” He took a quick glance around the room, perhaps hoping for a sympathetic smile. I looked around the room and did smile (not at him) because I was rather proud to see not one other Caucasian in the room. All us “newcomers” just ignored the poor guy, who was obviously just fresh off the Mayflower and didn’t know how nice people usually are around here.