Hard Times

Today is the Fourth of July, a grey, windy day, rain on the way. Snow falls gently on the visible slopes of the cordillera. Not celebration weather. I hear from a friend in the States: “Happy 4^th of July, hard as it is being part of this USA right now.” Yes, it’s hard. At lunch with four American friends we discuss the situation in our homeland, all of us in a state of disbelief.

My small attempt to commemorate this day is to send WhatsApp Happy Fourth messages with a photo of fireworks over Washington D.C. to sons, grandkids, friends living here in Chile.  Years ago, I made certain that my two sons, born in Chile, had double nationality. Now, as a small reminder of their heritage, I send the photo to my 13 year-old twin granddaughters who now have cell phones. The twins lived in the States as infants and have American passports.

When one twin responds “Que lindo,” she clearly has no clue where the photo was taken. I realize I hadn’t put a title on it,” so I write back, “Happy Fourth of July.” The other twin writes, “Wow! Where are you?” She also does not recognize Washington, D.C. I answer, “Happy Fourth of July. Those fireworks are in Washington, D.C.” “Oh. Happy Fourth!” she texts back.

Although I’ve lived in Chile for 46 years, the United States continues to be “home” to me, and I am deeply concerned about the current state of affairs there. I hope and pray that Americans in these hard times remain strong in fostering the values and spirit of the Declaration of Independence and a return to civility, honesty and tolerance in in that wondrous land.