(½) “When I was a baby my stepmother put me on a donkey...

(½) “When I was a baby my stepmother put me on a donkey and sent me to live with my 15-year-old sister. You know what was my toys? Bones and rocks and dust! Each day I got a bowl of water and loaf of bread. As soon as I was old enough I enlisted in the Iranian Navy. I signed up for life. And it was fun for awhile, but after a few years I decided to jump. I wasn’t going to waste my life on a ship. I waited until the perfect moment. We went to India, Pakistan, Spain, Portugal, but I didn’t jump. Then one night we pulled into Norfolk, Virginia. America is rich country. Very beautiful. So I decided to jump. The guards would shoot me if they caught me, but I was ready to die. At 3 AM I jumped into the ocean and swam the half mile to shore. I come out of the water covered in mud. I went to the train station and hopped the next train out of town. It was slow train to town of Miami. Stopped at every American village. When I arrive in the town of Miami the sun was shining, and everyone was driving convertible cars, and football game called Orange Bowl was going on. I walked to the gate of the stadium and said: ‘Please, I’m a Navy Man. Can I go in?’ The man says: ‘Sure. Take any seat you want.’ Oh my God. America, beautiful. Orange Bowl was a strange thing. Big guys hit each other, running ball. I had no idea what was happening. After the game I went to sleep under a bridge. Alligator watching me. Mosquitos eating me all night. In the morning I go to donut shop and wash windows for donuts. For six months I work like this. Clean windows, eat. Clean windows, eat. Then one man offered me a job in coffee factory. Big, heavy bags. No ventilation. Lots of dust. But I was happy. Much better than Iranian hell boat. America, beautiful. But one day big fat belly man come up to me with badge from FBI. He asked me for ID. But I have no ID to show him, so I thought: ‘They’re sending me back to the boat. I’m going to get killed.’ But when we got to the jail they made me pay a $20 fine. They told me: ‘Monday you must come back to court.’ I tell them: ‘Definitely, definitely. I will see you on Monday.’ Then I went straight to the bus station, and got on a bus to town called New York.”