“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The Un-ited Staes of America. “And the world will be a better place.” So ya think? Diana Ross who’s touching whose hand now? 

Fast forward to November 9, 2016. Winner take all? Does the derisive behavior of an entire nation disappear, get swept under the rug? Do the “losers” rally and protest? Does violence, street fights and overall crime escalate to off the chart numbers? Which side are you on Grandpa? Who are you voting for Judy? Babes, grandchildren questions supported with uninformed opinions, just 10 year old hearsay. Don’t vote for him/her they are going to do bad things to our country. Me- crying in the corner thinking is this how far we’ve come? Our children are fighting the fight. Politically, we are the Un-real McCoys. Rhetoric on the streets is negative, nasty and abusive. Does the country need a 12-step program? When do we go into recovery for antagonistic behaviors that we can’t control. 

We had dinner last eve at a favorite restaurant. The place is a delightful Pub which has been in business since St. Patrick’s day in 1967. It’s fed and welcomed crowds of political figures- aren’t we all? Besides the lamb chops being delicious and well known so is Jimmy- the owner. 

We are faces he recognizes and stops to chat. We are sitting in a red leather banquet under a picture of Jimmy with Mayor Bloomberg, Bill and up on the Hill?- police commissioner Bratton and his wife and a woman I don’t recognize. We hear the the woman who serves us say “they’re taking a picture of a picture.” We chat with Jimmy about the picture and the upcoming election.

We hear about the time Mayor Bloomberg flew him in his private plane home to his beloved Ireland. We discussed how Guiliani cleaned up the city, and what a disastrous performance by Dinkin’s. The bike lanes, a personal peeve of mine. Then onto Mayor Koch and how “nobody did it better.” Sing out Carly Simon. We don’t want the commercial to come on as we watch this real life reality show. We segue way to the bar and let our meal digest, our vodka’s assimilate and listen to the stories of the pictures lining the restaurants’s walls unfurl. He tells us proudly how many lbs. of fresh fish he has flown in daily. We marvel at the enthusiasm with which he tells the stories of how he migrated across our “borders” a long  time ago. He “made” it to his happy, successful place. A short man in stature and giant with Pride. He loves what he does and has a return crowd for 49 years. And we suppose amongst the politicians who have had the calves liver, the favorite lamb chops and the fresh, best in the city(we’re told) fish- has been eaten by potential rule makers who may not have “let him come in, sit down and have another.” When does unity kick in? With twelve step program success- let’s all join, form a coalition and put aside our preference to live with or without the bike lanes! G-d Bless America- we need you now!