Tacos

Every night a sweet Mexican man named Jose-Juan sets up his little Taco stand, where he happily serves fresh Tacos to all the regular drive-by's, until about 3:00 am, as he dances to the rhythm of his favorite Salsa music he has playing in the background. I have ran past his little taqueria many times and it always makes me smile, but tonight after a long run, I grabbed my camera and headed back out in front of our apartment complex where he parks each night. I took a few pictures of the handcrafted sign he has perched out front, not sure if he would be bothered by the photos. Sure enough out he came, but with a smile on his face and an outreached hand. He quickly learned that I spoke Spanish and there we were, half hour later, talking about Salsa dancing, family, religion, work, and practicing English from the side of his stand as he warmed little corn tortillas and seasoned the carnitas. In the end I even agreed to help him with some of his signage because he doesn't have a computer. Jose-Juan really doesn't have much, his family is in Mexico, he can't speak a speck of English, and he works long hours for an income that to most of us seems menial, but Jose-Juan has a dream. A dream to be an American citizen and he his here working hard to make it a reality. We truly are lucky to be Americans... and lucky to have a great late night Taco stand up the road.