I REALLY WONDER

I wonder how celebrity adoptees and their families deal with the "elephant" in the room. What will Angelina Jolie tell Pax about his natural parents? Will she help him find? Will she tell him to be grateful? What about Madonna? Madonna has repeatedly ignored requests of David's father to see him.

How will these adoptees feel? How does Bridget feel about her adoption being broadcasted across the country? Does she, David or Pax tell their adoptive parents that this shit sucks? How do these adoptive parents deal with the rebellion that comes with having an adoptee in the house?

What about Bristol? How does she really feel about her pregnancy being publicized in every newspaper, online, and on newscasts across the country? If I were in her position, I would be mortified that my mother chose to make this situation a topic of discussion.

Here is one look into it by a child adopted from the same orphanage as Bridget.

Here is the story:

Adoption connects woman to McCains

Colorado alternate lived in orphanage

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 09:22 p.m., September 4, 2008
Updated 11:53 p.m., September 4, 2008

Photo by Chris Schneider

Lia Moran joins others in the Colorado delegation in saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the Republican National Convention. Moran, an adoptee from India, says she identifies with the McCains’ daughter, Bridget, who was adopted from an orphanage in Bangladesh.

Lia Moran pays more attention than most of the Colorado delegation when talk turns to John McCain's wife and the two infants she rescued from orphanages in India and Bangladesh.

Moran also was in one of Mother Teresa's orphanages in India, where she was adopted around age 2. In all, her parents, Joe and Marge Moran, had five children, including four who were adopted from India and South Korea.

"My dad was in the Vietnam War and he saw a lot of orphaned kids," Moran said. "I think that made a big impact on him.

"I've never thought of it being that big of a deal because I've always been my parents' child."

Most people assume Moran is Hispanic. A few have asked her if she is Hawaiian. She is hoping to visit India next year for the first time.

Moran, 31, lives in Littleton and works for Starbucks. She is an alternate to the Republican National Convention, where several speakers have talked about Cindy McCain's visit to Mother Teresa's orphanages.

McCain brought two babies with medical problems to the United States. Friends adopted one child; the McCains adopted the other, Bridget, who now is 16.

Moran said she wasn't fully aware of the adoptions until this week.

"Cindy McCain is not running for president. John McCain is," Moran said. "But it's interesting to see another side of people. It does take a certain kind of person to adopt these kids. It's kind of a testament to what kind of family that is."

Moran said she is sure that Bridget has asked the same kind of questions she has asked, particularly in her rebellious teens.

"I say, 'You're not my parents,' and I wondered about my birth father and mother," Moran said. "My parents have been so incredibly supportive."

Said Marge Moran: "We weren't looking to save the world. We just felt we had room in our family for another child."

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327