Tulio had two apartments, a business, and a million dollars on paper. He and his wife left Venezuela with $1800.

Landed in Chicago. Lived in their car, he worked as a busboy to stay afloat. An engineer, scrubbing tables, starting over from zero.

Then his wife told him they were pregnant. Six months ago – they were told they couldn’t have kids. Their daughter is nine years old now.

I met Tulio on the boardwalk. While his wife and daughter played in the ocean, Tulio was reading a book called, “New Scientific Evidence for the Existence of God.” He wore a simple wooden cross on his chest.

Tulio and his wife are seeking citizenship. I asked him the question I always wonder about. Are Americans mean to you, like the news says?

No, he told me. They live in West Virginia, where most people have been there for generations. Kind. Friendly. Go out of their way to say hello. Have a conversation – on the street, in the grocery store.

Tulio has a new company now. Loves America. He radiates joy. Feels like anything is possible. The mindset is completely different here. In Venezuela, it is common to give up – when the government can seize your business and call it justice for the poor – hope dissipates.