Michael tried to enjoy the excitement

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Michael tried to enjoy the excitement storming around him as the parade float inched along the route. The gaudy float was decorated with white and blue paper ruffles, with accents of red ribbons carefully placed around the outer edge and more red ribbons cascading down from the large monolithic paper monument behind him. It was all very patriotic.

Maybe he thought, there would have been a time and place I would appreciate this kind of attention. But Michael dreaded every moment. He knew his duty was to smile, and allow the revels to go on, and he was never known to shirk his duty. But any joy displayed lived on the outer surface only. There was nothing below his skin that didn’t shutter at the thought that he was still living, and Dave was not.

Michael thought about one of his favorite jokes about Independence Day, a popular comedian commented that it was only on July the 4th that one could enjoy a Brat, a burger, and a steak before blowing things up because that’s what the founding fathers would have wanted. And Michael thought back on years before.

From his youth the Fourth was always his favorite holiday, but now it was as if he ate his favorite dish and became sick immediately afterward. Everything about this holiday left him spiritually and emotionally nauseated

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