There's Something Askew in the USA

 

Yesterday was a very strange day. I was supposed to drive my 1929 Ford in the Skokie, Illinois, Fourth of July parade. The day before, I had gone over the car. Checked the oil, topped off the radiator, and went around to every tire to make sure they were inflated to the correct pressure. Everything was right. So at ten fifteen in the morning of the Fourth, I started the car and pulled out of the garage. Something was wrong. I had a flat tire. Really, I had just checked the tires the night before. So I quickly jacked up the car and swapped out the flat, still making it to the site of the parade on time. There were three Ford Model T's, and three Ford Model A's all prepped and ready. That included mine with the two little USA flags attached to the front bumper. Everything was so well organized. They had folks riding around on golf carts handing out water and popsicles. Not real Popsicles, but those ones you freeze in long plastic tubes. Still, they were cold and sweet. I got to chit chat with the other guys who had brought their old Fords, and learned that my car really isn't so bad. Not that I think it is, but some of the restored cars do make mine look old. Like maybe ninety three years old. Anyway, we were all getting ready for the start of the parade when one of the parade marshals walked up and asked if we had heard the announcement.

"The parade has been cancelled. There's an active shooter incident at the Highland Park parade and the police have shut our parade down."

I mentioned that Highland Park is at least ten miles away, but the parade was done.

Just about the same time I found that I had a flat tire, a crazy person who should have never been allowed near a gun, took a semi automatic rifle and murdered six people in another parade just a few miles away. I admit, I have become numb to the constant murder of my fellow humans in this country. Every day in Chicago there are murders. But this random act, this thing that only peripherally affected me, hit a nerve. I seriously worried a week ago when I did the Pride parade in my old car, that some hateful human would wreak havoc on us. It didn't happen. So I felt much better this week doing the Skokie parade. Now I don't. Now I'm not sure I ever want to put myself out there again. Not sure if I ever want to shop at a large mall. Not sure if I will ever step into any location where crowds gather. That is the state of things in the United States of America, where we have power hungry politicians who will sacrifice the citizens so they can collect money from the NRA. A country where unborn fetuses are used as voter bait while the actual living voters are put in harm's way. I'm pissed off. Unfortunately a lot of my fellow citizens are not, and will go ahead and vote again for the fetus hugging, gun hugging politicians of the death cult.