A Love Note to America...and Her People

©2010 Susan Noyes Anderson, all rights reserved

Americans are different

as Americans can be.

We hail from north, south, east and west...

from sea to shining sea.

We're red and yellow, black and white...

the spectrum is complete.

We're big and small; we're narrow, wide,

and tall. We're short and sweet.

We work in banks and fields and mines;

we paint and dig and teach.

Some operate, incorporate,

or nurse, while others preach.

A bunch of us like grown-up toys,

speed boats and water-skis;

while others love to stand in streams

with boots up to our knees.

We swing at golf balls, shoot at hoops,

or serve up a home run...

then watch the pros do all those things

on TV screens. What fun!

We may or may not go to church,

but lots of us still pray.

We love our families, help our friends,

and vote to have our say.

Some fly the flag; some flout the flag...

but most view it with pride.

We live in towns and cities,

all across the countryside.

Our motto is "In God We Trust,"

and many of us do.

We care about our country, and

we honor freedom, too.

We're grateful for the founding fathers,

patriots indeed.

We honor men and women

who have dared to fight and bleed...

to claim and keep our independence

in each hour of need.

Americans are different

as Americans can be.

But in one thing we are the same:

We must and will live free.

I am convinced that the essence of America's freedom is deeply engrained in the DNA of her citizens. May we never go quietly into any dark night of tyranny, and may we ever protect and defend the freedoms won by our fathers and our fathers' fathers. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

***And now for Saturday Centus, my favorite game...Wherein Jenny Matlock's husband gives us a prompt, we throw in 100 of our own words, and a story emerges. (The prompt is in red.)***

Here goes!

Meeting Expectations

A trickle of sweat slid down my forehead, stinging one sunburned eye. Hey, at least I was hydrated. This heat was a beast, but slow, thirsty death in the desert wasn't high on my list of worries. No doubt about it. My butt was on the line.

“Are you sure that's the one you want?"

I felt a little lump in my throat as I peered down at my choice, held tightly in my hand. I didn't think this would be so nerve-wracking. Was I making the wrong decision? I couldn't agonize over this any longer.

I took a deep breath before managing to say, "... Yes, it is."

Exhaling carefully, I clipped the wire.

“Boom! You’re dead, specialist. And so is everyone within 100 yards of you. Nice work, rookie.”

The squad’s laughter hit me like shrapnel. My instincts sucked, but my timing couldn’t be better. I was gonna wash out of training just in time for the 4^th of July.

And I could see my old man’s star-spangled scowl already.