Somewhere along the way, someone got the idea that I am in favor of some sort of official language--I'm not. Most everyone who immigrates to this country realizes that in order to benefit from living here, they need English, and most learn it surprisingly quickly. I think we should leave it like that.

My neighbor and I were chatting the other day, and she mentioned that four years ago, she spoke no English. She teaches Calculus and such things at a local institution of higher learning, and expresses herself with the subtlety and nuance that one expects of someone with an advanced degree. It seemed odd to think that there was ever a time she couldn't speak English.

The kids speak English like the Americans that they are. It is very jarring to hear them exchange occasional sentences in equally good Russian.

Though many say that Americans don't know any language but English, in point of fact, as I pointed out above, there are a great many American homes where English is not the primary language. Estimates run to about 20%.

Often, the immigrant"s children speak English better than their parents, and take on a lot of the day to day family responsibilities at an early age. For them, letting go of the old language is important, because it meant the family had finally become assimilated--Their kids often have to learn the old language as adults, because the parents stopped using it in the home as soon as it was possible.

My favorite example here is Yiddish--in living memory, there were large districts in many major American cities where all business and social life was conducted in Yiddish--now it's a dead language.

So if any of you are worried about America becoming a Spanish speaking nation, it ain't gonna happen--the kids all speak English.   Too bad, in a way, because Spanish is one of the best languages--

PS-As to the quilt, I finally got it back, as well as the five dollars or so that I paid up front for the repairs in the first place.