As my sister had observed, people of color are quite the novelty in Larkspur, which is where I lunched it up with my mom today. After we were seated, our server thanked us for coming. Then she asked if we had been to the restaurant before, and we said yes. Then she asked if we were coming for some special occasion. Then when she returned the credit card voucher she asked, "Is it pronounced Leena?" and said I was the first Leena she had met.

What gracious hosts this country has!!! It almost feels like home.