An American's Thoughts on Australia Day

Wow! And I thought WE were patriotic!!

There is nothing like Australia Day...not anywhere, at least, that I've been. Bastille Day is good fun, the 4th of July is always nice, but nowhere else on earth have I seen burger patties in the shape of the country. That's right. Australia shaped burgers. I wish I had brought my camera along to the grocery store that day...

I was with Denise, and her sister Helen. Helen's partner was in the casino and we also watched his son, an 11 year old Kiwi boy, of all things! So I spent my first Australia Day with a Kiwi...go figure. A radio station actually hosted the event, so all the music was in time with the fireworks- and such a great addition! They played all Aussie artists, including Ben Lee, "We're All in This Together". Loves it.

I actually cried for a bit, during Forever Young. That song always strikes a chord with me, and patriotism is always beautiful. There was a HUGE Australian flag being flown behind a helocopter and I just thought, "this is what being proud of who you are and where you come from is all about." They were happy tears, shed in awe of the situation and realization of how lucky I was to be spending January 26th with such good people in such a great setting.

It was my first, but hopefully not my last!