America

A short blip from my travels across the U.S.

I’ve done my fair share of traveling across the states. And I’ve seen many sites, most spectacular, others with nothing to offer; and have met plenty of people. And because I enjoy describing the world as I see it, I will do my best to share my traveling experiences with those reading.

Michigan graces us with its lush and fertile deciduous woods that darken for dormancy every fall. Purples, reds, yellows and greens paint the state’s landscape in harmony. The people are particularly fond of festivals and enjoy celebrating Africa and the tropics �" the black children in the community can learn about their ancestry, the light shows twirling on one’s arms �" these are called Raves where everyone is either high as a kite from marijuana or popping ecstasy, Spain and Flamingo dancers will twirl before our eyes while stomping the heels to a quickening tempo �" making our women look uncoordinated, Mexico and Hispanic foods will fill our stomachs causing our tongues to burn and the bathrooms to overflow, hoedowns that bring southern twang to our city, in which Folks singers and country fans travel from across the world to see.

The Midwest has a way of showering the land with plentiful crops, tall and full of corn or soy. The children showcase their prized pig at fairgrounds for their 4H groups while the mothers and grandmothers compete for the best rhubarb pie. The trick is in the crust. The men of the land sit back and discuss politics, family values and brewing the finest hops. Their guts hang low over their trousers and their feet are bare in the earth.

I’ve passed over the East once or twice and have little to say. I do enjoy their traffic, as I am a speed demon at heart, and the shores welcoming newly hatched aquatic life and the museums displaying the past.

The south teams with its history of slavery, of which is seared in its people, buildings and monuments. The famous speeches of Dr. King can be read from engravings, while his children march in unison on the streets. Texans are proud and rightly so. The Alamo is their dent in history. They ride their horses on the road tipping an occasional brim to a lady with her child. Everything’s bigger in Texas they say.

Oklahoma and New York have monuments built to commemorate those lives lost in specific attacks. Both use water as a tribute flowing across a slab of granite �" I wonder how many tears the pools catch. So many names are etched in its smooth surface. The blind could read the list.

The West is Rocky and covered in green mountains. Lambs are herded as they would be in the hills of Ireland. Ranchers run cattle through a rough terrain; city dwellers stand and stare on their vacations.

California is a whirl, same as New York; busy life, busy street, too busy to help the dead on the sidewalk or the poor needing a snack. “He’ll just spend it on booze and cigarettes.” Just step over the dying, he’s become a piece of trash that the city will deal with now. They keep their cities bright, and give birth to our entertainment. They are the envied states. You make it to California and your dreams will come true. You land in New York and you’ve got it made.

Mexicans, and Blacks, Greeks and Jews, the quiet Amish, and the Asians; Canadians fit in with us whites; we’re no different, ehh?

Take it in and enjoy life. We are a collective people. Remove your judgment and prejudice. The first was never different from the last. We complete a full circle.

Reviews

[Tree]

America really is something else, and you do a fine job of taking us across that incredible swath of country...

[Jack V.]

Thanks Diego, I didn't think this even deserved to be put up (it's very unlike the rest of the things I've been writing). Happy you enjoyed a taste.

[John Sharp]

good description of America. I"m from Michigan so i can related. Although our fresh water oceans are usually popular too, not to mention we have a lot of local superstition like the dogman and such.

[Jack V.]

lol, I'm from Detroit actually. I'm headed back to MI in Sept. Writing this made me a bit homesick.