"From Rags to Riches"My father went through some tough times as a child in Mexico, such as not having many medicines for illnesses, not having school and not having job opportunities. His father only wanted the best for him. So when my father was around 11 years old, he decided to go to the United States to find a job with his brother. My father came from an area that had no public education system and was very poor. My father wanted the opportunity to work to earn money and make his life a little better. In 1971, when my father was 17, he decided he wanted to come to the United States and live with his father and uncle in Aurora, Illinois. He didn't want to wait until he was 18 because it would take a long time to get his green card. He took a bus from his hometown of Tepehuanes, Durango, to a town called Ciudad Juarez, located just before the U.S.-Mexico border. It was a 16-hour journey for him because the roads there are very winding because of the mountains. In addition, the roads are not of very good quality. When he got there, he took a taxi across the border to El Paso, Texas. El Paso is where he flew to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. My grandfather came to pick him up. He quickly noticed that America was full of work. He noticed how advanced the United States was and the quality of the streets, buildings and cars. It was also the first time he had seen snow since arriving in January. It was a huge change, but he was very excited and wanted to make money. It was my grandfather who brought it to the United States. He sent an application so that my father could come and work and earn money. My grandfather worked in a factory in Aurora. When my father arrived, he immediately found a job in Lombard where they made cardboard boxes. There, he earned 2.25 cents an hour! It started from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fortunately, gas prices weren't as high as they are today, otherwise my dad would have had a really hard time finding money...