A Bittersweet Thanks From America
When I was a child in South Africa, we often had to write stories from the point of view of someone or something else. For example: Imagine yourself as a tree with children climbing in your branches and write a story about it. At the 250th birthday of the United States of America, a similar kind of story came to me. I imagined myself as America, writing a thank you letter to all the citizens of the country. Here it is. My Dear Americans, Thank you so much for all my birthday wishes and all the wonderful celebrations you held across the country in my honor. I’ll never get tired of seeing all those flags and ice cream cakes and beach picnics and backyard barbecues. My favorite part is always watching little children with smears of ketchup on their faces gazing at the fireworks displays from their parents’ arms. It's not easy for me to find a way to say thank you to all those who fought and died on my behalf. My gratitude has no bounds, but neither d...