#1: I was tubing down a river in rural North Carolina with three of my fave friends. Upon rounding a bend we heard the patriotic calling. As the women screaming came into sight, we realized that they were yelling at us. They were so impressed with our tubing sportsmanship that they felt compelled to treat us as if we were competing in an Olympic event. I can't say that I blame them. We looked glorious on the river that day. They hailed us over, regaled us with stories of Bunco girls gone wild, filled our Nalgenes with champagne and then sent us on our merry way with multiple river roadies.
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| I aspire to be one of these ladies when I grow up. Their positive spirit got us through many hardships later that afternoon including (but not limited to) being chased by a very large water snake, weathering a lightning storm, and bushwhacking our way up the side of a mountain through poison ivy and pricker bushes in the hopes of finding a quick hitch hike back to our car that was parked many miles away. |
#2: The other event that I heard, "USA! USA!" being spontaneously hollered at with unabashed vigor was at the demolition derby in Saline, Michigan. The demolition derby was one of the best days of my life. It was a family event for white people of some walks of life and I've never felt so out of place and in my element all at one time before. I wasn't wearing camouflage, which is a mistake I will NOT make again if I ever get the opportunity to return to an event such as the one I attended, but I was full of spirit and tried to catch on to the flow of what was happening as the action unfolded around me. There were many things that I expected and was not disappointed about such as large amounts of spraying mud, car fires, and uncomfortable port-a-potty experiences. There were also surprises. Top of the list of delightful happenings at the derby was a monster truck named Kasey. That's right - my childhood nickname spray painted white on the side of the cab of a monster truck that didn't win but put up a damn good fight. Just like me on so many occasions in my life. That truck and I were kindred spirits.
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| Most of my pictures turned out pretty terribly. This one is of a car moving a car. |
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| This one is of a smashed car and some white people. |
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| This one is of a guy giving a victory speech on top of his monster truck. The crowd was really going wild. I could hear exactly zero words that he said but it was epic. |
In other words,
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| #girlsnight |
I'm holding my breath and keeping my ears tuned for more patriotic spirit to bring joy and intrigue into my life.
I will end this blog with a parting gift.
Hearts and hugs.
Here is a photo of a vehicle so grand that I pulled over and was late to my upcoming appointment so that I could appreciate it in all of it's splendor. It was super worth it. Are you ready for it?
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| YES. You CAN use this as your computer backdrop. We all can. |
Hearts and hugs.
