Happy (almost) 4th of July

Oh, the Fourth of July. I love the Fourth of July; I love fireworks and hot dogs and the smell of charcoal and re-enacting the Boston Tea Party in my kitchen. It’s a great holiday. This is a great country! Yay!

One of my favorite memories of being abroad was went I went to visit my friend Kevin in Dublin. Kevin is Irish. I met him online. Ha. Anyhow, my first night in Dublin, he and I went out to eat and then dancing in some club in Temple Bar. The DJ was spiiiiiinin the hits and at one point Bruce’s “Born in the U.S.A” came on. Now maybe it’s because I had had a drink or twelve, but for some reason I found this terribly, TERRIBLY exciting. You see, in that moment, I realized that I was born in the USA but that I was in Ireland when I was hearing this song, so even though I was in a crowd, I was the only one jumping up and down and singing it for real. (I really recommend all Americans try this experience out.) Kevin was slightly intoxicated himself and equally excited during the song; he kept hopping around in hysterics and yelling, “You were born in the USA! She was born in the USA!” A fascinating story, right? And you know, I could launch into a huge schpeel about what the lyrics of that song are really saying (our country has a lot of problems…and the shocker is that they are all still occurring today), or I could talk about this chat I had with a cab driver the other day in NYC; he was a Greek man, and he told me that “America is the greatest country in the world, you always have opportunity here, and that is like no place else on earth.” He also asked me about my knowledge of Zeus and other assorted Greek Gods, and then added that I look like his fourteen year-old daughter back at home in Greece-I don’t; he showed me two photos.) But…that stuff is boring. The music is better. Eat a cheeseburger and jump around.

Other things to love about this country:

Hmm…and this song below is quite wonderful. Diet Pepsi Uh-Huh. Happy Holidays.