Chase Shustack

As he lit the cigarette, the man pointed to the American flag in the corner.

Could you even imagine how hard it was to build a country like this?

Out of nothing but sweat, blood, and dirt?

Sure, we had tougher boys back then.

A stronger will, you could say.

But we aren't supermen.

Harsh winters, droughts, floods, infighting.

These things either make or break a nation.

I must have accidentally dozed off at that point, because I felt a stinging pain across my cheek.

I snapped awake to see him glaring down at me, like a teacher catching a student nodding off in class.

Once he was sure I was awake, the man continued.

Our forefathers, or maybe my forefathers, came over in 1901 from Ireland.

They studied what them Indians used to do when times got tough.

Granted, they didn't jump into all the spiritual bullshit right away, mind you.

They studied their agriculture, their tactics against wild animals and harsh weather, their rituals, their rites.

When things become dire, right around 1784, then it was decided.

What do you mean, decided?

Another slap on the face.

I had probably taken on an attitude without realizing it.

We did the first event.