Happy 4th?

Yesterday was the 4th of July. My attitude towards it sometimes mirrors the line in the 'Tuskegee Airmen' movie.

'How do I feel about my country? And how does my country feel about me?'

I've been pissed on one level or another about the pseudo-Texan Idiot-In-Thief since 1995, the various outrages of his misadministration, et cetera. Combine that with having to go to work as the house was barbecuing and it was not setting up to be a nice evening for me.

The post I have on Wednesday and Thursday nights is a construction site out in Fairdale just south of Louisville International Airport. A lot of those homes have been torn down to make room for airport expansion but you still have scattered holdouts here and there. Outside of the occasional KY Air National Guard airplane
passing over the area and the 12 midnight and 3 AM UPS arrival and departure flight banks it's pretty quiet.

To stave off boredom I'm armed with much of my CD collection and I keep a notepad for those times when I get an inspired writing idea for a novel, poem, short story blog post or need to work on a TransGriot column in between patrol rounds.

I'm writing a poem on the notepad close to sunset when I notice a flash. I look up in that direction and in the distance somebody is setting off fireworks. They are joined by more and more colorful ones across the neighborhood and the surrounding area.

I had the 'Whitney's Greatest Hits' CD in the car and it has her version of the 'Star Spangled Banner' she sung at the 1991 Super Bowl in Tampa. I pulled it out, advanced it to that track and pressed play.

I must have repeated it about 5 times while watching the fireworks burst all around the neighborhood before an advancing thunderstorm and Mother Nature's more awesome version of firewoks shut down all the fun.

I'm not a 'my country right or wrong love it or leave it' bumper sticker patriot. I believe our country CAN do better than it has over the last six years and have made a few lobby trips to Capitol Hill on my own dime over the last decade to prove it.

As one of my fellow Texans Barbara Jordan once stated, 'I believe in an America as good as its promise'.

Last night reminded me that no matter how disgusted or down I get about the current state of affairs, I have to continue believing it. I must continue fighting to make that kind of America happen. I'm comforted by the fact there are far more people in this country who share Barbara Jordan's vision of America than Ann Coulter's.

Hopefully yesterday inspired more of you to do the same and fight for a better America as well.