Tag: America

A crazy Fourth

July 4th--Happy Birthday, America!This is unquestionably a crazy time in the U.S. and around the world. But today is also our country’s birthday. I’d like to forget the weirdness and just say “Happy birthday, USA!”

I’d also like to thank all of those who kept us free and who continue to do so—our military and military families. Your sacrifice is much appreciated. Also, thanks to all who keep us safe here at home, our first responders who rush to us when we call for help. Because of all of you, our country is better, our lives are better, and considering all America does around the world, the world is better, too.

Have a safe and happy Fourth!July Fourth

A Humorous Look at Why We Might Be Better Off Not Having Fought the Revolution

Barbecued pulled porkI sit writing this on the day we Americans celebrate our independence from the British. Jack and I spent the day with friends, eating fruit, barbecued pulled pork on a bun, cole slaw and fries. We enjoyed iced tea—both sweetened an un- —and that most American of desserts, apple pie. Like many of you, we celebrated the Fourth of July unmindful of the heat, concentrating more on the coldness of the watermelon.

I couldn’t help but wonder what we would have celebrated in July had we not fought the War for Independence. Maybe we shouldn’t have—we wouldn’t have had the War Between the States if there’d never been any states, for example. So here are ten reasons we might have been better off if we’d remained British. I’ve never claimed to be a scholar, and you’ll soon see why I’m right. Please excuse any mis-statements.

  1. We would have tea. Not just the drink, which is delicious, comes in lots of blends, and is so much more soothing than coffee to drink when you have a cold. I mean the activity, TEA. Sitting back, relaxing, Afternoon teasipping a wonderfully warm, bracing blend such as Darjeeling while nibbling on tiny sandwiches, cake and biscuits (cookies to us Yanks). And when you ordered tea in a restaurant they would be faster to recognize when you need more hot water. Now you’re basically ignored. 🙁
  2. We could lay claim to thousands of years of glorious history. I have to admit, as a die-hard Virginian, are somewhat snobbish about history when we visit places like North Dakota. Not that ND doesn’t have a resplendent history, but Virginians are rather prideful. (She says with York and the Minsterpride.) Anyway, if we’d remained British, we could point to things like Stonehenge, York Minster, and Beatrix Potter’s house and say to the rest of the world, “Look what we have, nyah, nyah, nyah!”
  3. The British have the coolest currency. If we hadn’t broken away, we too could have pretty colored paper money, and easy to figure out coinage. Plus, when your pockets are full of pounds, you feel rich (and you walk a little to one side), even if you only have $15.
  4. We’d have a queen (I mean that in the royal sense of the world, not the Elton John sense). A president is pretty neat, but gosh, a QUEEN. Think of it. I really like Queen Elizabeth. Call me crazy, but I love her clothes, her hats and even her handbags. (Queen Elizabeth, if you’re reading this, maybe you’d be appreciative enough to offer an invite to Balmoral?)
  5. If we were still one country, maybe air fare would be cheaper, or maybe they’d keep the QE II running, but at reasonable prices. I’m all for a quick weekend trip to Great Britain.
  6. We’d have been taught to pronounce words like “Edinburgh,” “Cheltenham,” and “Magdalen College.” Or why they have seven rivers named River Avon, though the word avon itself means river. So it’s really Stratford-upon-River? Somehow that loses something in translation.Monty Python
  7. We could claim PG Wodehouse, Oscar Wilde, Hugh Laurie, anyone who speaks with a Scot accent, but especially Sean Connery, The Bodleian, Diana Riggs, Stephen Fry, Monty Python, Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery, Camelot and magic, Richard Burton, and I could go on and on.
  8. We’d already drive on the left side, so when we took those inexpensive vacations and rented a car, we’d know what the hell we were doing.
  9. We’d have Boxing Day AND Christmas—twice the celebrations!
  10. The Brits are known for their stiff upper lip. Sometimes we Americans could use a bit of that.

Okay, so I’m kidding about all this. Even with the problems and troubles we have, the political squabbling, and the economic ups and downs, we’ve grown from an insignificant little nation to a rather remarkable force. A force for good more than evil, or at least I think so.

On this July Fourth as on every other of my life, I’m proud to be an American. Proud, tall (which I’m happy to say is a relative term, since I’m pretty darn short) and unashamed.

July 4th--Happy Birthday, America!I thank the men and women who have fought—and still fight—to allow us our bar-b-ques and our arguments and celebrations. Without you, we would be driving on the left and eating bangers and mash instead of hotdogs. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Happy birthday, America, and may you stay strong and well.

Dee

Only a Good Man Will Do: Seriously ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!

Naval Maneuvers: When a woman requires an earth-shattering crush of pleasure to carry her away, she can’t do better than to call on the US Navy. Sorry, Marines!

Aussie Becomes Yank!

Jan and I host a newsletter we call Aussie to Yank, but in this case of welcoming a new American citizen, we adapted the title a bit. You’ll see why below.

Aussie flagA few years ago, my daughter Jeanette hit a couple of brick walls in her life and decided to take a break and travel to the USA. She wasn’t to know that meeting and falling in love with an American named Joe would be the beginning of a complete sea change for her. With that sea change came obstacles – a huge ocean separated Australia and America and her three months tourist visa demanded she return home. After a lot of soul searching, she decided to pick up sticks and stay in the U.S. with Joe.American flag

Leaving Australia for a new life in another country was a big, daunting step. Oftentimes she was very homesick. It wasn’t as though she could fly home for the weekend! Jeanette didn’t know anyone except Joe, but her fears (and most of her homesickness) were quickly dispelled when his family and friends welcomed her with open arms.

There was a lot of adjusting to do–

Coming from a country that has as many sheep as people she missed the mouth-watering roast leg of lamb with thick pan gravy. No hot meat pies with tomato sauce (ketchup), a must on cold days. No fish and chip shops with battered fish and chips cooked in hot oil, lashings of salt and wrapped in paper. Jeanette’s initial reaction to biscuits and gravy was ‘ugh’ until she learned American biscuits are similar to our scones. Eating out was confusing and remembering to tip even harder.

Learning to drive on the right-hand side of the road took time, remembering to open the left-hand door instead of the right took longer, however her driving test was surprisingly easy. In Jeanette’s words, “The guy had me drive around while he asked questions on koalas and kangaroos.”

Americans were very interested in our wildlife, especially the poisonous snakes and spiders. Breezily declaring she’d killed dozens of spiders with her thongs was met with an uncomfortable silence. (Oops! She didn’t know she meant flip flops.)

In Jeanette’s words again, “Everyone I’ve met has said they’ve always wanted to go to Australia, and they all think our spiders are BIG. I suppose they are but our shoes and thongs, I mean flip flops, are bigger.”

Because she lived in Queensland, (1.7 million sq. kilometres in size) it was assumed she knew Steve Irwin, ‘the crocodile hunter.’ After the fourth or fifth query, she maintained a very straight face while replying that yes, she’d gone to school with him. [LOL!!]

Jeanette was teased mercilessly over her accent and our habit of abbreviating words such as arvo for afternoon, Salvos – Salvation Army, brekky – breakfast, barbie – barbecue, snag – sausage, coldie – stubby of beer, garbo – garbage collector, and ambos for ambulance crews. Her love of Vegemite was met with looks of disgust and ‘how can you eat that stuff?’ Surprisingly, Joe loves it.

Settling into American life was made easier by the wonderful friendship and support from Joe’s family and friends, but Jeanette needed to get Jeanette's citizenshipserious about living there permanently. To obtain a conditional green card, she had to be married to Joe for one year, have a co-sponsor and not break the law. After that she could apply to have the conditions removed to become a permanent legal resident. And then, she faced another three years before she was eligible to apply for citizenship. Last year the process began, and in April 2019 she travelled to Detroit for the test on American history and government. She passed all the hurdles and finally, the citizenship ceremony was held on 20 June.

I’ve been asked a few times how I feel. I miss her horribly and though I’ve travelled to the U.S. for visits, the trip is not to be taken lightly. As far as I’mThe Aussie is in residence! concerned, Jeanette is Aussie born and bred and now America is her home. Becoming a citizen was absolutely the right thing to do. Each time I visit, her American family and friends make me very welcome. And, the nicest compliment of all, my son-in-law Joe hoists the Aussie flag up on the flagpole. I feel very much at home there.

Congratulations, Jeanette!! What a huge undertaking. I have a feeling you’re more knowledgeable about the U.S. than a lot of us born here. Welcome to being a U.S. citizen!