The last time I saw my grandfather, Izu, was in 2003. He was dying of lung cancer in Venezuela.
He was a larger than life man from the Kingdom of Romania who was orphaned at 10 years old, came to Venezuela, and built his entire life from scratch.
I was at playing football at the Columbia University when my father called and said, "Look, I know you're really busy with school and sports and all that, but if you ever want to see him again, this is the time."
So I talked to my coaches and worked things out and I flew down to Caracas with my father.
If you know Venezuelan history, in 1998, Hugo Chavez, the dictator, became president. And the Constitution was clear you could run for only one five-year term. So in 2003, his term was up, but as an autocrat, he was not going to take that lying down.
So what does he do? He packs the Supreme court with a bunch of his buddies and petitions for reconsideration.Constitution is clear, you can't run again."
So what does he do? He packs the supreme Court with a bunch of his buddies and petitions for reconsideration.
The new Supreme Court told him that not only could he run again, he could run as many times as he wanted to. He ruled until 2013 when he died of cancer.
After the ruling, there were mass protests which happened to coincide with when I was visiting my grandfather.
My grandfather, who was down to roughly 85 pounds and confined to a wheelchair, asked me to wheel him outside onto the balcony and set up the chessboard so we could play one last time. As a little boy, he had taught me how to play chess.
I set up the pieces. He couldn't lift his arm enough to move them, so I was moving them for him.
He said to me, "Your father tells me you want to go to law school." And I said, "I do." And he said, "Where do you want to go to law school?" So I said, "I want to go to Yale, but I don't know if I'll get in."
And then he said, "Well, what kind of lawyer are you gonna be?" And I said, "I really don't know, I'm just in college, I mostly just care about football, you know?"
And he looked at me and he had watery eyes at that moment, and he picked up his very bony finger, which took a great deal of effort, and he pointed out at the crowd below and said, "Always remember, this is what happens to a country when good people don't serve it."
And so when I got the call to serve as a federal judge, it was a no-brainer. This country welcomed us with open arms when we had nothing and gave us everything we have today.
It's the honor of a lifetime to be able to serve, and I'm grateful for it every single day.