Independence Day

I was stopped at an intersection, stranded in my Trooper, stuck
three cars behind a guy driving a luxurious souped-up black
pickup truck trimmed with chrome, towing an oversized cabin cruiser,
trying to negotiate the sharp right turn off  the narrow
side street into the marina, attempting to avoid hitting a parked
car, a tree, a stop sign, a fire hydrant and the entrance fence,
all at the break neck speed of two miles an hour. 
I sat, waited, watched and  laughed as the truck and trailer
pulled up, backed up, pulled up, backed up, twisted, turned
and contorted, making slow progress one inch at a time.
I just wanted to get home and get ready to celebrate the day
with my friends and family, spend the day at the beach, have
a barbecue and see the fireworks at night.
Welcome to the Jungle came on the radio, I smiled and instinctively
turned up the volume. 
Maybe a hair too much.
“Turn off that God Damn un-American crap!
It’s the Fourth of July, you should be listening to some good old down
home American music.” 
That complaint came from two good old boys sitting on the porch
of the corner house. 
Both were dressed in tee-shirts and shorts, that barely covered their big bellies. 
One had uncombed hair and an unkempt scraggly beard, while his partner
sported an NRA baseball cap and the unshaven shadow of two day gray stubble. 
They both were swigging bottles of beer, their beverage of choice
at ten o’clock on the holiday morning. 
What caught my attention was the flag that flew from the pole outside the house. 
It wasn't the Stars and Stripes, but the Stars
and Bars of the Confederate battle flag.
Questions flooded my mind.
Had Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum failed and the aliens won?
Didn’t they know Guns and Roses hailed from LA?
And I was pretty sure California hadn’t been ceded back to Mexico, yet.
The intersection cleared, so I just smiled, waved and all I could  say was, 
  “Happy Birthday, USA!”

Submited by

Miércoles, Mayo 22, 2013 - 13:50

Poesia :

Sin votos aún

poetpete

Imagen de poetpete
Desconectado
Título: Membro
Last seen: Hace 8 años 20 semanas
Integró: 05/03/2011
Posts:
Points: 936

Add comment

Inicie sesión para enviar comentarios

other contents of poetpete

Tema Título Respuestas Lecturas Último envíoordenar por icono Idioma
Poesia/Poetrix The disconnect 0 4.048 01/16/2014 - 19:53 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix off to the tropics 0 2.615 01/16/2014 - 19:52 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix An Artistic Endeavour 0 3.643 01/16/2014 - 19:50 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Independence Day 0 3.016 05/22/2013 - 13:50 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Living in the war zone 0 4.643 05/21/2013 - 12:14 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Kitty Cushion 0 3.025 05/08/2013 - 11:39 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix prelude 0 3.773 05/08/2013 - 11:37 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Herding A Migrating Mob of Lemmings 0 3.744 05/08/2013 - 11:34 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Spring is near 0 3.743 05/07/2013 - 17:35 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Bikes 0 3.485 05/07/2013 - 17:24 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Guns R' US 0 3.322 05/07/2013 - 17:22 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Recurring Nightmare 0 3.065 05/07/2013 - 03:41 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix The American Celebrity 0 3.494 05/07/2013 - 03:38 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Integrals Of An Irrational Function 0 3.212 05/07/2013 - 03:37 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix October's End 0 2.879 11/16/2012 - 00:26 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Occupy Wall Street 0 3.602 09/25/2012 - 17:39 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Lost Poem 0 3.420 07/26/2012 - 12:41 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Banished 0 3.922 07/26/2012 - 12:41 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix OPAL 0 2.835 07/23/2012 - 15:16 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix On Pens and Needles 0 3.050 07/01/2012 - 14:15 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix The Gate 0 3.063 06/16/2012 - 15:41 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Do not feed the beast 0 3.267 06/15/2012 - 17:18 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix The Ho-Hum 0 3.278 06/15/2012 - 17:16 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Hello Kitty 0 3.301 04/27/2012 - 14:43 Inglés
Poesia/Poetrix Buy Partisan (a disconnected dichotomy) 0 3.409 04/24/2012 - 18:38 Inglés