Yes, I DID Wear the Shirt

I ended up wearing The Australian Flag shirt yesterday.

I tried to resist.

I promise.

But it was the best red, white, and blue shirt I had. The colors were perfect.

Okay. And MAYBE a tiny part of me wanted to annoy my parents and brother-in-law. They're not too happy with my Australian obsession. Because....

a) They totally love America and think it's the best country in the world

b) They fear I will manage to fulfill my wish and whisk myself, their son-n-law, and their grandson to a far away land.

Our family entered the lake house in the right colors. I had the Aussie flag. Tim had a red Manly beach shirt. Jack went with a more American choice--a red shirt advertising Coney Island in NYC.

There was no yelling or demands for me to leave the house--just a shocked look from my brother-in-law that seemed to say I can't believe you did it.

My mom somewhat sighed and said something like. "It's rude."

I said that it wasn't rude. I'm wearing the right colors. What happened with you guys?

My brother-in-law and mom wore orange. My sister wore bright pink.

This stopped the criticism right away. They knew I had them there.

We went on my parent's boat to watch the fireworks. We had the American spirit (and Australian as well) but we weren't actually getting along well with each other. Lots of bickering.

I want to go back!

I'm getting sea sick.

It's too loud!

I'm soaking wet!

Stop complaining! You can cry all you want. We're not going back!


My lovely sister Dawn suggested we sing patriotic songs--trying to bring peace. She and my mom sang "God Bless America."

Jack started protesting and telling me I should sing Australian songs. Okay, the shirt was one thing. I wasn't sure I wanted to go that far. There was already enough drama on the boat. Plus, I'm not sure I know the full lyrics of any Australian song. I'd end up singing something like There was once a jolly Swagman who went to a pub with no beer and met the man from Snowy River and now let's all rejoice cause we are young and free!

I suggested to Jack that we skip American songs and Australian songs and go for Disney instead. That's fairly neutral.

I started to crone. When you wish upon a star.....


Jack didn't like that. He wanted Australian songs.


My dad didn't like it either. If you want music, I'll turn the radio on.



The lake started getting more and more crowded. I remarked that it reminded me of Australia--but not in a good way.

My dad looked triumphant when I said that. "And it's only 25 miles away from home." (vs. about 10,000 miles for Australia).

He hadn't heard the "Not in a good way" part.

I explained myself—to those who listened. It reminded me of New Years in Australia. Crowds, drunk people, and fireworks.

Sorry. I'm not fond of crowds full of drunk people. It's just not my thing So New Years Eve in Sydney was probably my least favorite day in Australia. It was also bad because it was our last day there. Hey, but that's another story.

I'm also not a fan of fireworks. Yeah. They're lovely. I just don't get the big deal. Modern man-makes fire display in the sky. Yippee!

I'd much rather see a rainbow.

Or a sunset.

A sunset on a quiet uncrowded beach in Australia.

That would be lovely.



How would our world change if we knew for sure there was life after death, and it was easy for our dearly-departed to talk to us via the Internet?   


The Dead are Online  a novel by Dina Roberts 


11 comments:

  1. I want to see a photo!

    Meanwhile here in Western Australia, my boss - from Boston - came into work and said "okay you can sing to me now..." And we struggled but managed to sing about two bars of the star spangled banner or something... I mumbled it.

    :)

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  2. Cellobella,

    LOL. I think most Americans sing only about two bars of the Star Spangled Banner. Did you ever see The Naked Gun--where Leslie Nielson is trying to sing it and doesn't know the words.

    I actually do have pictures!! My husband had his camera. I'm not sure he brought card-reader though so I might have to wait until we get home to post them.

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  3. Dina
    An aussie flag shirt. To use some Aussie rhyming slang: "Onya Sonya!"

    Now you just need: a (beer) stubbie holder, a fishing hat and a pair of thongs (slaps) for your feet! And you have to learn about rugby (league and union) and cricket!

    My blog will be 2 yrs old on 15-July! Some in my family didn't think it would last. I didn't put the counter on for 12 months.

    :)
    John

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  4. Hey John...

    One step at a time.

    I'm so not into sports. The cricket and rugby thing might be hard. How did I fall in love with a country so into sports? Actually though, I find more Americans that are sports-obsessed. Well, then again I know more Americans.

    Happy birthday to your blog!!!!

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  5. I'm dying laughing at the whole thing-- everything you described I can see coming out of each person's mouth exactly as you described-- especially Dawn saying everyone should sing, Judd being annoyed at the shirt, and your mom saying it's rude. I LOVE IT!!!

    Omigod-- I really miss your whole family. Maybe we should come back to Dallas instead of Florida when we are done in Australia.

    And when I get back to the U.S. it will probably be the first time I'll be all about July 4th!

    Has Dawn been on here?

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  6. I can totally picture you being all patriotic for the 4th!!

    We'll have to totally dress you up--American flag earrings and one of those big red, white, and blue hair bows.

    Were you at all patriotic before Australia? Or did the experience turn you patriotic.

    It kind of reminds me of my Jewish thing. I didn't crap about being Jewish until I went to college in Tennessee and there were about 7 other Jews in the whole place. I encountered anti-semitism for the first time and was suddenly all into the Jewish thing.

    You should move here instead of Florida!!! That would be awesome!

    I don't think Dawn is on here. I don't think any of my family is. They really don't like to hear anything Australian-related.

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  7. Good for you! You should pack the family up and move to Aussie land. To heck with the family.

    Cheers,
    Chuck

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  8. Gawd Maud, I'm sorry to hear you got such a strong reaction by wearing the t-shirt!
    Hope you had some nice times anyway ((hugs)).

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  9. Jayne,

    It wasn't that bad. They were actually fairly calm--at least on the outside. I think they WANTED to strangle me. But they politely refrained from doing so.

    That first night together actually wasn't that bad. After that....it all went to HELL.

    Ugh. Total nightmare weekend.

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  10. dins-- deens-- can I call you that-- ha,ha..
    I think Australians are most sports obsessed!

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  11. Laura,

    Are you meeting Sports-obsessed Australians?

    I never met any. At least not yet? You know more Austalians though--and are spending more time with them.

    I know SUPER-obsessed people in America.

    Probably statistically Australians are more sports-obsessed. I'm probably just meeting the rare ones who are not.

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