A man named Ali picked me up recently in his taxicab. He had a hard time finding my house. It’s kind of off the grid. The first thing he asked me was if there were bears around.

Ali is an immigrant, coming from Somalia 10 years ago. He is proud of America … not of Somalia. He misses the warm Indian Ocean and the good food, but not the war, gangs and the people in control of the oil industry.

This guy was great. He was passionate about his family and his patriotic beliefs.

Ali spoke so fast that I couldn’t comprehend everything, but I did pick up about half of what he was saying.

He told me something that stuck.

He told me he had picked up people who hated life. He said that this is not a bad life to be here in the U.S.A. I think what he was trying to say was that this country is the best, especially compared to his previous homeland.

Ali told me he will never give up the American Dream. I saw a man who is passionate about freedom; a man who was eager to vote (and vote for a certain Republican … bucking the trend of immigrants voting for Democrats).

Ali is now supporting his family of six by working. He even gave me a hard time because I don’t have children yet. He was disappointed to see a “healthy” man not having any kids. He made me laugh quite a bit, actually. He showed me true passion for freedom and a peace-oriented nation.

We made a friendship and we exchanged gifts. His to me was a croissant with a mixture of beef, vegetables and hot spice in it. It was fantastic. I loved it. And, since he said he liked the hot spice, I gave him some pepperoncinis.

I’ll end on this: We are a nation of immigrants. America always has been.

Giving immigrants the time to integrate into society is exactly why America supports them with social services first, so they can survive until they can become working citizens. Like my friend Ali.

Dustin Gilbert is a resident of Turner. He holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Southern Maine and also once had a column in USM’s school newspaper, the Free Press.