S
omewhereoverwhatIcalcu-
lated tobecentralNebraska,
mydaughterMaddy looked
out thewindow fromflight
5792andsaidaloud, “Wow,
thiscountry issobig!”Itwasthesortof
statementvariouspeoplecanunderstand
fortworeasons:
Maddy isanairlinekid.Foreightof
hernineyearsof life,Daddyhasworked
forAmericanAirlines, soMaddy isaroad
warrior, and fellowairlineemployees
andtheir familiescanappreciatehersen-
timent.Thesecondreason isone thata
majorityofAmericanscanrelate to, espe-
cially thoseofuswhowereLadyLiberty’s
huddledmassesyearningtobreathe free.
Yousee,Maddy’sdaddy isasecond-
generationAmericanandthegrandsonof
Holocaustsurvivors,onewhose lifecame
soclose toneverhappening.AndDaddy
hastriedto instill inMaddythepridehe
has fora landandhervaluesthat
Lincolnsaidthisof: “This
country,with its institu-
tions,belongsto thepeople
who inhabit it.”
I tookMaddyona24-hour
Maddy/Daddygetaway toRapid
City,S.D.Asours isahousehold
of two full-timeworkingpar-
ents, I try to takeeachdaughter
onaspecialweekend trip for
somequalityone-on-onetime.
ForMaddy’strip, shewasgiven
freereign tochoosewhereshewantedto
go.Wordscan’texpressmypridewhen
shesaid, “MountRushmore.”I’venever
been toSouthDakota.Thiswasaspecial
first forus.
Wecaughtthe lastflightoutofDallas
andchecked intotheBestWestern
Ramkotaat9p.m.Wegotsome late-
nightwatersliding inattheir indoor
waterpark, thenwewokeearlytodrive
toMountRushmore. Ididmybestto
educateMaddyabouteachpresidentthat
iscommemorated intheBlackHills,andI
taughtheraboutwhatsortofmanpower
wasneededtoerectthismonument from
1927-1941.Wegazedatthepresidents
fromseveralangles forhours. Icouldsee
Maddywatchingtheothervisitors’ reac-
tionsatthestrikingcarvings.AndIcould
seeAmericaworking itsway intoher.
From therewedrove to theCrazy
HorseMemorial.Underconstruction
since1948, thework-in-progresscom-
memoratesthe legendaryLakota
warriorwhowas instrumental in
defeatingGen.CusterattheBattle
of theLittleBighorn,only later to
bestabbed in thebackbyamilitary
guard.Butbeforehisdeath, asoldier
tauntedhimwhile incustodyby
asking, “Whereareyour landsnow?”
CrazyHorserespondedwithoneof the
morepoeticrefrainseverrecorded:
“My landsarewheremydead lieburied.”
And itwas intheBlackHills, gazing
EDITOR’SNOTE
ByAdamPitluk
at theCrazyHorsemonument inthe
distance,where thissecond-generation
American feltatruekinshipwiththe
NativeAmericandisposition.My family
made ittoAmerica in1945, andthis is
wheremy friendsand family lieburied.
It’swhereI’llbeburied.This ismy land.
OverDaddy/Maddydinnerthatnight
atDakotahSteakhouse,wediscussed
how the twomonumentsmadeus feel. I
usedtheopportunitytoconveymy loveof
country tomydaughter, andcouldagain
seepatriotismwashingovermychild, a
third-generationAmerican.
And itwasontheflighthomethatIre-
spondedtoMaddy, “Yes,honey, thiscoun-
try issobig.And it’s themostbeautiful
country intheworld.”That’sastatement
anairlineemployeeofeightyearscansay
emphatically.
This ismypenultimatecolumnasan
AmericanAirlinesemployee.BecauseI
believeunreservedlythatthis isthe land
ofopportunity, Iknowwe’llmeetagain.
HappyThanksgiving,America.
Inthe
Spiritof
CrazyHorse
AdamPitluk
Editor
FollowAdamonTwitter
@adampitluk
14
NOVEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
