atop an ADM rail car.
this is the least likely place i would have expected to find myself. but after having woken up at 3:30pm following a deliciously long phone conversation with tgpeanut that ended just after 9am this morning, i kinda missed svairini‘s email and voice message outlining where she’d be during the day.
so, i made my way to our regular fireworks viewing haunt next to the bridge by her house and ran into a fellow green party colleague. short story long, i ended up on this rail car with two gay boys to my left, and a gaggle of arrogant frat fucks to my right, who looked at me moments ago saying, “IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY. AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY.”
i cheerfully replied, “i’m here for canada day, which was on monday.”
the mullet-haired, baseball-capped guy, who reminded me of a picture taken of my youngest brother (with whom i have no contact), cockily replied, “OH. I’M SORRY.”
wanker.
and my green party colleague, lani, ironically noted that the united states sent 2,000 troops to iraq today to overthrow the iraqi gummit.
how … patriotic.
the fireworks show is over. it was about as heartfelt as the typography used in most “u.s.a.” jingoism schwag, much of it being prevalent over the last ten months.
it was lacklustre and made me realise just how sad this nation’s bullyish façade comes across.
oh. now we have drunk guys smashing empty beer bottles on the tracks behind me. they’re wailing “HAPPY FOURTH, AMERICA!”
joy.
but now that things are winding down, and the breeze is dry and refreshingly mild up here, i almost wouldn’t mind staying up here for awhile, typing in the dark and thinking about what i can anticipate over the next six months.
chances are, though, i’m about to get off this archer daniels midland grain rail car and remember that “this american life” episode that profiled the worldwide food cartel led by the company in question.