Berenice

Today, July 4th, I rose from bed and made pancakes. Then, I attended church. I anticipated too many patriotic testimonies, so I brought a biography of Edgar Allan Poe. Interestingly, his lonely, difficult life caused me to reflect on mine. I had a different kind of spiritual experience ... I think I will attend fast and testimony meetings without a book to read nevermore.

I returned home to a posse of suspicious citizens partying in the apartment complex pool. I walked up the stairs leading to my apartment door. I switched on the air conditioning, gathered my dirty clothes, and headed back down the stairs toward the laundry room on the far side of the pool. I passed the barbecued corn, the limes, and the Gothic tattoos and reached the laundry room door. As I pried it open I heard a caw. The posse turned its head away in time to miss my glance, but the raven's obsidian eyes gazed into mine. The washer started and the charcoal raven took flight over the grill and out of sight.

The persistent heat of Phoenix does not relent for a holiday. And so I relaxed inside as the fireworks celebrated the bringers of victory. This day in my life was simple. I observed The 4th of July in my pajamas, and on my bed I felt a reverence for my Independence forevermore.

I will never forget July 4, 2010. It was a simple day spent with a friend.