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.

Read my novel: The Dead are Online