There was a time I wanted to live in Germany. That desire sprung from my love of scarves, chocolates, old buildings, and people treating me like sh*t. I also bought into the notion that America was big and bad and capitalism was no good (although they weren’t the reasons I wanted to flee– you see, I felt beckoned as opposed to repelled). Throughout high school and college, the vision of America painted in my mind was not a positive one. It seems odd now in retrospect that the institutions that should have been flag waving were flag burning. I came to my senses a couple years out of college and after a few trips back and forth from Germany. I realized that it was time to think for myself and stop letting myself get swayed by the media types. I now can say quite honestly that the United States is absolutely the greatest country and I am proud to live here and wouldn’t live anywhere else. Sometimes I want to go back to college and flash my voter’s registration card, just to freak out the professors.

When I think of the Fourth of July, one memory stands out amongst the others. I was a little girl visiting my Aunt Helen and Uncle Leo. It was close to July 4th and the day was quickly turning into night. Aunt Helen, always the most wonderful aunt, gave Lisa and me sparklers. We stood in the front yard holding the pyrotechnic out in front of us watching the sparks shoot out from every angle. My cousin David saw us standing there like trees an admonished us, “You don’t just stand there!” He grabbed my sparkler and ran all over the front yard. He darted back and forth, swinging the sparkler up and down. It seemed to me he became a human firework. The next time Lisa and I were given sparklers, we raced all over the yard, giggling and laughing, imitating Cousin David.