The world's most efficient and
prestigious cleaning crew swept in the moment
the the monster left the building. They
wheeled in enough Lysol and Clorox to choke a
dinosaur, determined to thoroughly eradicate the
stink. Muscular movers in masks and gloves
removed the befouled beds and mattresses and
every trace of the slovenly former occupying
miscreants. Its a huge palace, not just
the visible edifice, but the vast subterranean
complex of the Situation and adjacent rooms,
control rooms with humming banks of computers,
secret tunnels and chambers. Everything
was wiped clean and debugged. And next
came the precisely timed arrival of trucks and
crews moving in the new family's pristine
possessions.
In 1968, I was so very proud as I stood
in my underwear along with 4000 other young men
at dawn at an induction center during Vietnam
and took the Oath to serve my country. I
was proud as hell when I graduated boot camp.
I was proud as hell when I walked down 5th
Avenue in New York City in my uniform and
started saluting all the American flags flying
from every building, until I thought I was
probably being idiotic, but I realized that No
One
was laughing at me, they were proud of seeing me
do that. I was so proud when I came home in
my uniform and my father's eyes bugged out at my
National Defense Service Medal, a freebee, and
he exclaimed in his refugee's accent, "ACH, you heff a medal already!" And I was so proud,
years later, when I was promoted to Sgt First
Class. I thought my chest would burst with
pride. Me, a child of refugees who had arrived
here penniless!
And for decades, I remained
proud as hell of my service. And then I
lost my pride when I felt ashamed for my country
as our vulgar former president ordered the children of
immigrants to be stolen and ripped from their
parent's arms and be taken away forever. And I was
ashamed for my country when he committed all his
other vulgar vicious acts of national vandalism.
I lost my pride!
I thought I would never get it
back. And then I saw the child of
immigrants sworn in as Vice President of the
United States of America; someone like me!
And then I saw a man of integrity, decency, and
honesty sworn in as President. And I
cried; me a grumpy cynical 74 year old veteran
sergeant. Yeah, I got my pride back.
So, the ogre has departed, at
last. He flew off to his luxury private
golf club in sunny Florida. Good Riddance! He didn't
speak at his successor's inauguration.
That is an incredibly rude undemocratic snub on
American tradition. Its just as well, of
course. Who the hell would want to hear
him spew his lies and hate to poison such an
august occasion.
And now the spineless elected
members of his party are still kissing the
radioactive dirt he walks on, still afraid of
his destructive control, still willing to lower
themselves into the stinky sewage muck of his
delusional loyal minions. I wish them the
worst of luck. Nearly every single one of
his party's elected members live and speak in
continual self contradiction; at one recent
point denouncing his televised treason, and just
a short time later nervously rushing to plunge
their faces and fate up his ass. Who the
hell are these people!
I'm placing my faith and
patriotism in the hands of a daughter of
immigrants and the the son of genuine working
class Americans.