Happy Independence Day!
Please forgive me for a little digression . . . Now, I know this isn't a political blog, but anyone who knows me knows that I've been a little down in the dumps about where this country's headed for, oh, the past six years or so, and that I've talked seriously about heading to Nova Scotia if a certain Presidential brother wins the White House in 2008 (Canada: Anne of Green Gables, sheep, and socialized medicine--what's not to like?).
So there I was on Saturday, at Tanglewood, after a lovely day of touring one of the most beautiful sections of New England, having a wonderful dinner with friends, and making a short visit to one of the region's premier yarn shops. I was there to see my fellow Minnesotan, Garrison Keillor, and to attend my first ever live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. The evening was a celebration of all things American--American music, American poetry, Meryl Streep.
The show itself was wonderful--funny and sweet and sad at the same time--but the most amazing moments came after the "official" show was over. Garrison returned to the stage and led us--all of us--in a singalong of "America the Beautiful," "Amazing Grace," and other traditional songs. We didn't all know the words, we didn't all sing in tune, but we all sang, more or less together, these songs that all of us have in common. Seeing this amazing array of Americans--from the wealthy ladies in white slacks just starting their summer season in the Berkshires to teens with dyed hair playing Frisbee on the lawn to men sporting ponytails and handmade "Bow Hunter" belts--singing those songs together gave me an odd kind of hope and an undeniable gratitude for this country's energy, diversity, and resilience.
So, happy Independence Day. I plan to spend the day doing two things most Americans couldn't care less about: reading a novel and watching World Cup soccer. All of us in Boston are hoping the weather holds out for tonight's fireworks celebration. Have a wonderful celebration, wherever you are.
So there I was on Saturday, at Tanglewood, after a lovely day of touring one of the most beautiful sections of New England, having a wonderful dinner with friends, and making a short visit to one of the region's premier yarn shops. I was there to see my fellow Minnesotan, Garrison Keillor, and to attend my first ever live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. The evening was a celebration of all things American--American music, American poetry, Meryl Streep.
The show itself was wonderful--funny and sweet and sad at the same time--but the most amazing moments came after the "official" show was over. Garrison returned to the stage and led us--all of us--in a singalong of "America the Beautiful," "Amazing Grace," and other traditional songs. We didn't all know the words, we didn't all sing in tune, but we all sang, more or less together, these songs that all of us have in common. Seeing this amazing array of Americans--from the wealthy ladies in white slacks just starting their summer season in the Berkshires to teens with dyed hair playing Frisbee on the lawn to men sporting ponytails and handmade "Bow Hunter" belts--singing those songs together gave me an odd kind of hope and an undeniable gratitude for this country's energy, diversity, and resilience.
So, happy Independence Day. I plan to spend the day doing two things most Americans couldn't care less about: reading a novel and watching World Cup soccer. All of us in Boston are hoping the weather holds out for tonight's fireworks celebration. Have a wonderful celebration, wherever you are.
posted by Norah at 12:36 PM
4 Comments:
Oh my GOD. Do you know how many people said "I'm moving to Canada if W wins!" ? How many of them left? I can bet not many.
Instead of bitiching about the pres, or anyone else..... get off your ass and DO SOMETHING. Campaign for someone, find a cause, get involved.
If you can't do that, then maybe the USA doesn't need you, and Canada won't want you.
Actually, if you read my entire post, you'd see that the whole point is that maybe we should all stop complaining and criticizing each other and just figure out how we can work together to make things better. The point of the post was not to "bitch about the pres" but to express hope and gratitude for the good old US of A. Sorry if you didn't understand that . . . and now I'm off of politics and back to knitting.
Norah! i was there too. it would have been fun to run into you. Wasn't meryl wonderful?!
Appreciate you bloggingg this
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