On another occasion, I attended a retirement party for Jose. Regrettably, I don't know his last name. In other times, Jose would be called a "janitor," but he probably has a fancy title such as "building maintenance engineer." (Frankly, I think janitor is more dignified.)

Jose could make your day, just by saying "hello" with that marvelous smile of his. I know little about him, because we don't speak the same language. When Jose retired, Scott Anderson and Zions Bank gave him a retirement party on the elegant 18th floor of the new Zions Bank Building. It wasn't formal — a buffet lunch with delicious Mexican food. But Jose was there with his beautiful wife, dressed not in janitorial uniform but in coat and tie, greeting literally hundreds of people who came by to honor him. Most wanted

just one more smile before saying goodbye to an old friend.

As long as we make room for individuals such as Jose, we'll be OK.

The point is that we've spent more than 200 years trying to live up to the ideals set before us by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Marshall, Abraham Lincoln, the two Roosevelts ... and countless others.

They challenged us to be good people, to be a great nation, and to hold fast to high ideals. We keep trying, but we make mistakes. We know the task of building a better nation is never finished. It is a work in progress. And that, too, is one of our strengths. We have confronted many challenges, and we have overcome them.

We will overcome today's challenges, also. It's our heritage.

Is this a great country? Or what!

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G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words, Inc. He was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Utah and an honorary doctorate by Southern Utah University. E-mail him at dongale@words3.com