In my own independent way.

The Fourth of July. The people around me are going crazy. They explode firecrackers. The idea is to make noise. Italians do that, too. On New Year’s Eve.  Maybe that makes Italians less patriotic than Americans. Or should I say that Americans are more patriotic than Italians?  I ain’t patriotic. Because I don’t celebrate the Fourth. Didn’t go to the big parade in town. Didn’t wave an American flag. Declined a dinner invite from a neighbor.  No patriotic music for me. I listen to Haydn trios. Do my ritualistic 40 miles on a bicycle. Another normal day. My next door neighbors hoist the Stars and Stripes. I display the Italian and Sardinian flags. Makes me different. Finding peace and solitude and happiness in my own independent way. On the Fourth of July.  –Jim Broede