In June, Julia and I took our last trip into the city to purchase supplies. Every month during our time overseas we had to drive three hours over bad roads into the city to purchase groceries. Our last trip to the city was a horrible trip. The grocery store had forgotten to pay their electricity bill; therefore, there was no electricity in the store. None of the stores were open on time and we had to wait outside in the hot sun for at least an hour for someone to come and open the store. Our order which I placed the night before was not ready and we subsequently had to wait longer for our supplies. All of the prices had been raised and to make the day even better I received a "boot" on my truck for parking in an "illegal" space (every other time in the city I had parked there but for some reason that day it was illegal), after yelling at the police I eventually gave in and paid the ticket. It was a long day.
At the end of the day we stopped at the butcher to purchase beef for the hospital. While waiting for the butcher to cut off our meat from the cow he told me he wanted to come with me to America. This is a very common request and usually I give a sarcastic answer but today I was tired and just asked, "why do you want to come with me to America?" He replied, "I hear America is a magical place." His answer almost knocked me over with how profound it was. As I looked over the butcher market at men who were doing hard physical labor for less than $2 per day, and looked out the window at Julia while she talked with street children who would spend the night passed out on the side of the road after huffing paint fumes; I couldn't help but realize that yes, America is a magical place.
America is a country where there is water always in the pipes. We are able to go to the sink turn the facet and have clear, clean drinking water. We have paved roads and the States even pay people to fill our potholes. We have constant and consistent power. We have drivers who follow the rules of the road. We do not have to pick up our groceries from the floor and are able to have multiple selections of cereal and bread. We have noise ordinances which prevent our neighbors from playing music at ungodly hours of the night or at ungodly levels. We have McDonald. We have property laws. We have welfare to provide for the less fortunate. We have one of the best health care systems in the world. We have Capitalism. We have a very high minimum wage. We have a government who looks out for the less fortunate. We have free, public education. We have an African-American President and women are able to run for office. We have freedom of speech, the press, freedom to assemble, and every other freedom which is given to us by the Constitution. We have the power to dream. Women have the right to vote and to go to work. We have the power to be anything we want to be. We have the power to go to school and make a better life for ourselves. We have soldiers who defend our freedoms across the globe. We have soldiers who have been and are willing to die to allow us to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We live in a great country. America is a magical place! I have spent two years overseas and have come to the conclusion that there is no country like America. This Fourth of July when Lee Greenwood comes on the radio with his ode to America. I will be singing at the top of my lungs. I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free and I wont forget the men who died who gave this right to me, and I gladly stand up next to you, and defend her still today, because there ain't no place, I'd rather be, God bless the USA.
In conclusion, we are blessed to live in America. We live in a magical place. My prayer for America is that we never take for granted our freedoms and America understands that we have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
At the end of the day we stopped at the butcher to purchase beef for the hospital. While waiting for the butcher to cut off our meat from the cow he told me he wanted to come with me to America. This is a very common request and usually I give a sarcastic answer but today I was tired and just asked, "why do you want to come with me to America?" He replied, "I hear America is a magical place." His answer almost knocked me over with how profound it was. As I looked over the butcher market at men who were doing hard physical labor for less than $2 per day, and looked out the window at Julia while she talked with street children who would spend the night passed out on the side of the road after huffing paint fumes; I couldn't help but realize that yes, America is a magical place.
America is a country where there is water always in the pipes. We are able to go to the sink turn the facet and have clear, clean drinking water. We have paved roads and the States even pay people to fill our potholes. We have constant and consistent power. We have drivers who follow the rules of the road. We do not have to pick up our groceries from the floor and are able to have multiple selections of cereal and bread. We have noise ordinances which prevent our neighbors from playing music at ungodly hours of the night or at ungodly levels. We have McDonald. We have property laws. We have welfare to provide for the less fortunate. We have one of the best health care systems in the world. We have Capitalism. We have a very high minimum wage. We have a government who looks out for the less fortunate. We have free, public education. We have an African-American President and women are able to run for office. We have freedom of speech, the press, freedom to assemble, and every other freedom which is given to us by the Constitution. We have the power to dream. Women have the right to vote and to go to work. We have the power to be anything we want to be. We have the power to go to school and make a better life for ourselves. We have soldiers who defend our freedoms across the globe. We have soldiers who have been and are willing to die to allow us to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We live in a great country. America is a magical place! I have spent two years overseas and have come to the conclusion that there is no country like America. This Fourth of July when Lee Greenwood comes on the radio with his ode to America. I will be singing at the top of my lungs. I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free and I wont forget the men who died who gave this right to me, and I gladly stand up next to you, and defend her still today, because there ain't no place, I'd rather be, God bless the USA.
In conclusion, we are blessed to live in America. We live in a magical place. My prayer for America is that we never take for granted our freedoms and America understands that we have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
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