A Form and a Fee

(How to become an American … the hard way)

Late last week, one of the best people I know became an American citizen. So, once he was on our team, I did the patriotic thing: I turned him in to the NSA.

It was the first time I’d ever attended a citizenship swearing-in ceremony, if you don’t count one extremely social après-football event in college that I’m still advised not to discuss. (I dimly remember that uniforms were involved then, too … though not much civics.)

Since I’d never been to one,...