A few months before Operation Enduring Freedom began in Iraq — I woke up around 3am out of a sound sleep to what seemed like the buzzing sounds of a cropduster going by overhead. The buzzing grew louder & louder & seemed to shake the house. I leaned on my elbow & asked my wife what she thought the noise was — thinking the whole time that some new terrorist intiative was sprinkling little bionuclear flavour crystals all around our quaint neighborhood.

As the sound montage continued — the buzz of sharecropper engine propellers dwindled a bit & then the supramoderN ultraslick shoom of jetplane propulsion soon followed thereafter. My mind painted the picture of military aero pursuit with possible elimination of our fearsome escaping foes.

After the sounds subsided — I thought of how crazily my mind seemed to wander to these thoughts of the potential terrorist assault. The ominous pre-emptive threats could have surely inspired such further attacks on the american public. 'He keeps pushing it & pushing it & pushing it and now look at what's happening' the little train of thinks moving along down the track 'Thank You Dubya!'

Of course now we are in different times to a certain degree. I am sure that the colors could change & mutate right back up to red at any moment now — somewhat inspired by our invasion of Iraq or perhaps even other previous US foreign policies gone awry. As much as I oppose war — my heart & hopes & prayers go out to the soldiers | out to the innocent | & out to an eventual resolve into some sort of peace.

Until then — print out pictures of the american flag & scotch tape them to your rear window. Fly little flags from your auto antennae & hum the national anthem while walking down through officeparks and malls and parkinglots. Whistle while you work and rent movies for Christ's sake yes rent movies and shop and do all those whoville things that make us who we are and who we will continue to be. Go to Costco and purchase oversized overportioned parcels of foodstuffs and watch the game. Get together and play boardgames and talk about coupons and sunday sales flyers. Just be real — you know — like J-lo — just like J-lo y'awL.