‘God is number one, the United States is number two’
“I’m from Kosovo. I grew up on a farm in the countryside. You had to listen to what your daddy told you. I got up early to feed the cows. I worked hard every day. When I was 18 or 19, I started working at a brick factory in Slovenia. Then I hurt my hands a little bit. The doctor said I couldn’t work. I had a friend, and I said to him, ‘You want to go to the United States?’ He said, ‘How?’ I said, ‘It’s not going to be easy. But we can try.’
“I loved to watch cowboy movies on TV. They showed the United States a lot. I saw the fighting in Vietnam and things like that. All the time I had this in my head, that I wanted to come to the United States. And I did.
“I started in Chicago. I worked in a restaurant. I washed dishes and cleaned restrooms. I worked 12 hours a day. It didn’t bother me. It was my job. I did that for a year. Then I had a friend in Louisiana. He worked on an oyster boat. He said I could make more money. I said, ‘OK,’ and I went to Louisiana. I worked as a deckhand. I made good money. Then I moved to Texas. I had my own oyster boat. I ran it for almost 30 years. I had two deckhands. It was a hard job. You’re gone from home a lot, sometimes eight or nine nights. You’re out there working in the rain and the cold. But I did it for my family.
“I love this country. I appreciate the United States, a thousand times, for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this life. The way I look at it, God is number one, the United States is number two. That’s all I can tell you. People can say what they want. A lot of countries hate our guts. I don’t care. They’re jealous. United States economy is number one. United States power is number one. Nobody can mess with us. They can say what they want. United States has the best in the world. I love my country.”
— Jimmy Saciri
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