America’s Friends on the World Scene
Sometimes there is a moment in time that defines one’s thoughts for the rest of your life. These moments come suddenly and often pass before we realize what just happened.
One such event occurred the evening of November 3rd,2014 the night before the 2014 elections.
We were cruising on the MSC Divina, an Italian cruise ship, along with approximately 3700 other passengers.
An international cruise, Americans were definitely in the minority. It was rare to even hear anyone speaking English. I would guess there were only about 30% of the passengers who were Americans.
The entertainment for the evening in the theater was to be Simply Italian. A program featuring all the popular songs of Italy.
To say the Italians are proud of their culture and country would be an understatement.
Near the end of the program, the vocalist suddenly began singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
I looked around and most people seemed to be puzzled.
Suddenly one person stood up and placed her hand over her heart. Then another, and another. I turned and looked around the auditorium.
There were probably close to 1,500 people in the theater, all were standing. Everyone had their hand over their heart and singing our national anthem. Italians, South Americans, people from India, the middle east, and Europe all joined the singing.
As the song drew to a close, the standing ovation must have gone on for over two minutes.
Among the Americans, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
For the next few days, every American on board I talked with was appreciative of what had happened. Most had a small tear in their eye while discussing it.
This event refreshed my memory to a similar instance several years ago.
I was traveling in the outback of Australia, and since I had been mostly isolated from society for almost a month, I had forgotten what day it was.
Traveling with a group of tourists in a small bus of twenty-five, including the fair skinned, freckle-faced, redheaded, Irish, Aborigine, driver, we entered the small town of Daly Waters in the Northern Territory. We more than doubled the population since the official population of the small village was only seventeen. I just did some research on the village, it now boasts a population of 18, so they gained one!
As we entered the town, we passed a small abandoned airfield with a C-47 parked at the end of the runway. I thought it interesting that the aircraft had U.S. markings on it.
As we entered the pub, it was full of people celebrating, far more people than the seventeen that lived there.
It was the middle of the week and the middle of the day, so we inquired as to what the celebration was all about.
One older bloke replies,”It’s the fourth of July, and we are celebrating and appreciate what the United States did for us during WW2.”
I hadn’t known this, but Japan actually attacked Australia, Darwin in particular. The air base in Daly Waters defended the area and help prevent more attacks from the enemy.
In spite of the fact that the Aussie’s are always looking for a reason to party and have a good time, there was real appreciation in their eyes. There was more to it than just looking for a reason to party, and as was always the case in the land down under, once they found we were Americans, they always were appreciative and wanted to learn more about our country. I found they were very politically informed, often knowing more about our country than we did.It was always hard to leave such an atmosphere.
That evening,our bus driver bought fireworks somewhere and set them off in the parking lot.
We have real friends “Down Under.”
Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve found most people have nothing but admiration and respect for the United States.Most look up to us for guidance and support. Many countries want to do it on their own but lack the knowledge and wherewithal to go it alone.
They don’t all hate us like the media and the left try to tell us.
Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature, landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt, the Canary Islands, much of the Caribbean. He has studied the Mayan Cultures in Central America and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different parts of the world!
He has published several books about the various cultures he has observed.
For more information and a link to his hardcover and Ebooks, and contact information: please check his website, http://www.journeysthrulife.com.
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There is an extreme shortage of common sense in today’s world, When looking back in history, I soon discovered this has always been a problem, Benjamin Franklin once said, ”Of all the senses, common sense seems to be the one that is used the least.” As obvious as it may seem, many seem to be totally oblivious to it. Most, if not all of the problems the world faces today could be solved if people would just sit back and think about what would seem to be the most obvious and simple solution to any issue. Often times people tend to over complicate the issues. I often think back to what my parents and grandparents believed and said, at the time I thought they were totally out of their mind and ignored it. I now wish I would have listened and followed their advice. It is now evident they were a lot smarter than we gave them credit for. Many times, in today’s world, the schools and universities can no longer be counted on to teach truth and values that will guide someone through life.
Thinking Between the Lines 