I was so exhausted from grilling and entertaining over the holiday that I thought I would get some sleep last night. The sun is setting these strange days just before nine, and that is when the explosions began to ring out along the farm lane. I was jumpy, either from the prescribed medication or something unknown. Eventually, I went out on the deck to puff a cheery Marlboro and see if there were any colors associated with the explosions.

Not a sign of them, and as the wires tingled in the back of my neck and joints throbbed from the modest exertion of Independence Day, I thought back on all the things that had gone on. We had two couples over for an afternoon of soft drinks, Chicago Steak Company filets, grilled scallops and shrimp, wonderful coleslaw of an unidentified but tasty recipe, rich sautéed mushrooms and a zesty potato salad.

It was muggy hot on the back deck, and the Russians brought two fans over to keep an artificial breeze going over the back deck, which was festooned with large and small flags. There was much laughter and it felt just like Holidays past. When the guests departed with good feelings in the darkening sky, I discovered the television listings seemed bereft of the old school patriotic movies. There was news that other people were burning flags and threatening to tear down Mount Rushmore.

I marveled at that, since the monument used to get a lot of praise when other Presidents and some candidates visited the magnificent mountain. This year, there is some odd behavior going on, now pointed toward the election in November. I am hoping the trouble and bad tempers will burn themselves out by then. If there is the suspicion that someone is playing fast and loose with balloting, there is going to be trouble. That sadly appears to be regardless of who wins.

Accordingly, I am trying to get a little more organized than usual. In winnowing some of the piles, I found a couple manuscripts that I had intended to publish and never got to. One is cool- it is a mostly true story of something very spooky that might have some unusual aspects not considered in the official version. I will tell you more about it as we get closer to publication. I like almost everyone in the story, and there are a couple heroes and an equivalent number of evil people.

It was quite an interesting 4th of July, quite unlike any I have seen. The current situation reminds me of the events in the book I wrote. I am reminded that times have been strange before, and we are still holding on.

I am glad we celebrated. I hope you did, too. Labor Day is the next one to get through, and everyone loves the Working Person, right? We’ll see if they love us back.

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com