A Suburban Father Who Gave No Warning Sign.

They took their places in the wood-paneled courtroom, 58 people from 32 countries. They listened as a federal magistrate banged the gavel and said it was ''a wonderful day for the United States''-- the day they would become Americans. The magistrate talked about Thomas Jefferson and told the group that they could run for office -- only the presidency and the vice presidency were off limits, according to a tape recording of the proceedings in a Bridgeport, Conn., courtroom last year, on April 17. On her instructions, they raised their right hands and repeated the oath of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]