Adversity Is My Angel: The Life and Career of Raul H. Castro

Chapter XII Conclusion and Notes

Adversity Is My Angel 106 ChAPTER xII CoNCLUSIoN 4 When Pat and I returned to Arizona in 1980,we bought a home in Paradise Valley in northeast Phoenix, and I practiced law, in an uneventful yet lucrative fashion,in downtown Phoenix.For the next twenty years I enjoyed my practice with good friends and partners Henry Zipf,Al Rogers, and Sidney Marabel.The slower pace and more moderate lifestyle suited Pat and me as we entered our seventies and eighties. In 2000 we moved to Nogales; a return to a relaxed and quiet life. I continued to practice in the field of international law until I turned ninety, when I finally closed my office and retired. I loved practicing law. It provided me with a good living and great friends, and whenever I have the opportunity I encourage young people to look seriously at law as a profession. As I survey the historical horizon and assess the various challenges I encountered, I would surmise that fortitude and resolve—others might call it “grit”—served me well. Early in life, when we moved to Pirtleville, I had a sense of determination, and I told myself that I would not be “a dumb Mexican kid.” In reality I grew up in a difficult, yet nurturing environment that inured me to the dynamic changes taking place in a rapidly urbanizing civilization that demanded public involvement and participation.Adversity has been my angel, as I have always seen it as something to overcome, not as a roadblock to my success. I was never satisfied with the status quo and always wanted to move ahead, to progress to the next level. If that is “ambition ,” then it gave me a good life, and I wish it for everyone. My parents worked hard to provide for my siblings and me,and through seemingly impossible odds I persevered and worked my way through college , law school, and beyond. Fortunately I realized that formal education was the key to achieving one’s goals in life.As I embarked on my political and foreign service careers, I met some outstanding public servants and 107 elected officials including various presidents, senators, congressman and others. My friends and colleagues included Arizona’s most distinguished leaders,like Morris and Stewart Udall,Carl Hayden,Barry Goldwater,John Rhodes, and Bruce Babbitt, to name a few. I was also fortunate to meet and counsel with numerous heads of state from all over the world. I love this country in spite of its imperfections,blemishes,and shortcomings .Together we should constantly strive to make it better and appreciate what we have in this remarkable,hopeful,and productive land of opportunity. In the United States a poor immigrant Mexican child can rise as far as his mental acuity and industriousness will take him. But it takes work—not excuses—hard work.My years in public service were humbling,rewarding , and unforgettable and for that I am thankful.Thank you, America, and all of those kind people who have helped me along the way. With former governor Rose Mofford at the inauguration of Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, January 2003. Photo courtesy of author. Chapter XI Conclusion Adversity Is My Angel 108 NoTES Introduction 1 Susanne Lassiter to Jack L.August, Jr., November 8, 2007. At age ninety-one, Castro regaled an audience of thirty-five people at the monthly “Teller of Tales” meeting at a Tucson restaurant and triggered the earliest idea to draft this volume.This volume, written in the first person, conveys the hundreds of hours of interviews and transcriptions that now form the Raúl Castro Collection and related archival and manuscript materials at the University of Arizona, Special Collections Department. 2 Little has been published on Raúl Castro but his life and career have been addressed in a variety of scholarly and popular publications. See, for example,Thomas Sheridan, Arizona: A History (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995); John Goff, Arizona Biographical Dictionary (Cave Creek,AZ: Black Mountain Press, 1991); Clarin (Buenos Aires,Argentina) August 20, 1998.After receiving his law degree from the University of Arizona in 1949, Castro’s rise was meteoric; deputy county attorney of Pima County (1951-1954), elected Pima County attorney (19541958 ), elected as judge of the Pima County Superior Court (1958-1964); appointed ambassador to El Salvador (1964-1968); appointed ambassador to Bolivia (1968-1969); elected governor of Arizona (elected in 1974 and served...