TECHNICALLY
nine
for the bicentennial
BUT
there was a fair amount of stuff in seventy five
so I'm not sure what happened when exactly
coulda been
eight
my third grade math teacher
was the one that told me
about it
& THEN I HAD to GO
the FREEDOM TRAIN
my mom took me
& she did not
ENJOY
any of it
BUT
I LOVED it
there was a LONG line
I had KNOWN that
my teacher
has said
it was
COLD
possibly drizzly
BUT
the ambient america didn't disappoint
FOR ME
the line was PART of the RIDE
it was this BIG collection
of americana
nostalgic hocus pocus
GIANT basketball shoes
I don't even REMEMBER what all
you RODE on this
CONVEYOR BELT like in the airport
PEOPLE MOVER
through this TRIUMPHANT trophy case
CABINET of CURIOS
SIDE SHOW of accomplishments
it was LIKE
a WHISTLE STOP
it had ALL these AMERICANA elements
I'm not entirely certain that I'm describing it
EXACTLY like I would have THEN
BUT
it was the VERY
LAYERED
american experience, for sure
I NOW feel fairly
CERTAIN
if I had described the experience
I expected
my mom would not have been willing to go
I don't think my teacher
had been giving
a glowing
review
I really LIKED her
BUT
as I think about it NOW
I had that class after lunch
& pretty frequently
she would
SAY
we SMELLED like
we had gone to the bathroom
& NOT WIPED
ourselves
PROPERLY
& she'd
SPRAY is down
with
LYSOL
I always wondered if it was me
who STUNK
because
I mean
I always
PEED
before coming back from lunch
& I didn't
UNDERSTAND
she was SAYING
that we SMELLED
like SH*T
I think this is super funny
