The American Dream

A few weeks ago, I met another Ironmonger staffer.

"You know who you look like? Ah what’s his name, you know, he's in that movie... Ah, what is his name? Oh! Edward Norton!"
“Oh yeah?! Is that how you recognize me when I come in here?"
"Yeah. Well, don't forget about me in your next movie!"
"Ok, I won't! My name is Scott, by the way."
"George"
"Right, well I'll see ya later George."

Monday night, while George was cleaning up the equipment for the night and I was finishing my ride, we got to talking. He commented on how hard I was working lately and asked what I was training for. I told him about the ride across America and how I'm trying to finish it before I leave London in a few weeks. From there we got to talking about America and how great a country it is and how he grew up in a home in Portugal where his Dad supported everything America stood for and everything America did. He told me how he thinks it is the most advanced country in the world. He's never been to America but he would love to go. He spoke of freedom and a place to call your own. He thinks that even the countries who don't like us, still try to imitate us. I told him how refreshing it was to hear someone speak so highly of America because I haven't been hearing a lot of that around these parts lately. He thinks that a lot of the anti-American sentiment is being fuelled by the media and is kind of the popular thing to do right now but deep down, people still think America is the greatest country to live in, and with the next election upon us, American sentiment world wide is sure to pick up.
The vision of the American Dream is still alive. He described freedom as the American suburbs, where there are no walls and no fences separating you from your neighbours. There is only grass. It's a place where mutual respect and community thrive, where the whole town knows the name of the running back on the local football team who scored the winning touchdown on Friday night. And all this coming from a Portuguese guy who’s never been there! I told him it was all true. I told him how I loved seeing my picture in the paper when I had a good game. I confirmed that there really are no fences separating me from my neighbours. (And yes, we own guns but we only use them for hunting).
We promised to exchange information. I told him I would love to give him a place to stay in Chicago if he ever decided to come. He wants to go to some jazz clubs. George offered me a place to stay in Portugal as well; his girlfriend owns a house with a pool on the beach. I hope I can take him up on that sometime (and I hope his girlfriend doesn't mind!). Before I knew it a half hour had gone by and we were the only two left in the place. It was time to go home.