In my forthcoming novel, DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, a character named Concepcion makes a harrowing border crossing to get into this country illegally.  Once she arrives in this country, she's thrust into an alien world where she doesn't speak the language and doesn't know her way around.  I was reminded of this when I had lunch over the weekend witih my cousin, Dennis, and his wife, Diana.  Dennis met Diana over the Internet and asked her to marry him after just one date.  The reason was that Diana lived in Colombia at the time and so dating was understandbly a problem, with Dennis living here in the States.   They've been married two years now and, while Diana has made great strides in improving her English and pursuing her studies, she still struggles with the everyday things we take for granted: learning to drive a car, for instance.  In speaking with her, I was reminded of the quiet courage many of those around us dispaly on a daily basis.  No, they're not the ones that make headlines jumping onto the subway tracks to save a fallen fellow traveler.  They are the heros and heroines of their own struggles.  People who show dignity and strength in the face of tragedy or a debiliatting illness.  People, like my cousin's wife, who when thrust into a world that, to her, was like being plunked down on the planet Mars, show courage just in continuing on and not retreating, tail tucked between legs.   I hope, when reading DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, it will remind you of those in your life who must take an extra step, sometimes two, for every one you take. When I do that, it makes me want to slow down a bit to extend a hand...