Daily Archives: February 17, 2006

The American Dream

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Yesterday, I spent some time visiting with Jonathan Bulkeley, a former AOL employee and a good friend of mine who is now a venture capitalist. During the call, he reminded me of a conversation we had several years ago.

Yesterday, I spent some time visiting with Jonathan Bulkeley, a former AOL employee and a good friend of mine who is now a venture capitalist.  During the call, he reminded me of a conversation we had several years ago.

While traveling together on a business trip, I asked him if the Bulkeley Bridge that runs from New York City to Connecticut was named after his family.  He told me it was, and then I asked about his family background.  Just like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Jonathan had gone to Yale University.  One of his ancestors, Morgan Bulkeley, served as the first president of baseball’s National League, was elected Governor of Connecticut, and served as a U.S. Senator.

Jonathan then asked me about my family, and I explained that my Dad was a waiter in a restaurant, that my grandfather emigrated from Greece and was an employee in a shoe tannery in Lowell, MA, and that I was the first person in my family to graduate from college.  I had to admit that I didn’t know anything about my great-grandfather, but promised that I’d try to find out.

My dad didn’t have any more information than I did, but he wrote some letters to the old country, and a few months later we had our answer.  It turns out that my great-grandfather was a goat herder who spent his days chasing goats across the Greek countryside.

That’s one of the things I love about this country.  Regardless of your background