There is a burial ground which ought to be visited today. It is broad, vast, immense. The horizon line of this field runs the length of my comprehension, and continues to a place I cannot go, not even in my dreams. Beneath the golden plain, beneath the purple sky, are…
39 Posts
All posts tagged Patriotism
Family Table
Sunlight on brick is hottest at four in the afternoon. It bakes between the boxy shadows of the buildings on Main Street. Boys sip coke from slender-necked bottles. One of them shakes his fist, rattling the dice and tossing them down to clatter up against the wall. Two sixes. As…
Lucky
When the thumping of fireworks splattering across the night sky reverberates within my own chest, rivaling my heart, I know without a doubt how lucky I am. How lucky to be here in this country where my right to speech and faith and the pursuit of happiness are protected. Lucky…
Fun and Legendary
"My stepdad's gonna kill me! It was his ball." "So?" "So, some lady signed it." "Okay, Smalls, this is important. What was her name?" "I dunno. Ruth. Baby Ruth." "Babe Ruth?! Ahhhhhhhhhh!" In 1993, Benny "the Jet" Rodriguez got a lesson from his idol. Heroes get remembered, but legends never…
Bloodlines and Debate
Patriotism is an urge that I attempt to nurture within myself every day. It is what drives my emotions when I join in singing the national anthem during a baseball game, or when I hold a door open at work for a lady who has her hands full, or when…
Rules of War
"Would you like a lesson, sir, in the rules of war?" When a cruel green-eyed captain snarls these words at Mel Gibson in The Patriot, he is standing an arm's length away behind a carefully aimed pistol. And this is only moments after he has ordered his troops to execute…
07/07
A deadly day has come. Evil infiltrated the London Underground and the London bus lines and detonated multiple explosive devices, killing more than 30 people and injuring hundreds more. Is this Britain's 9/11? When our twin towers were so tragically toppled only four years ago, Tony Blair and his…