If you ever visit the Sierra Valley, take a drive and take notice of the names of the old ranches. You'll begin to see a familiar pattern: Roberti, Magdelena, Dotta, Genasci, Filippini. It recalls a time when this place was settled by the Swiss Italians over a hundred years ago. This whole nation, in fact, was built by our immigrant ancestors that came from all parts of the world. What unites them all, regardless of where they came from, is the tremendous risk they took. To leave their homeland, their culture, their language, and their loved ones could not have been an easy choice. You and I are products of that choice. Because of that decision, I will never have to know what it feels like to beg for a bowl of rice.