sixwordstories | (no subject)

I would have to disagree.

Admittedly, my favorite things about it are even stranger.

It could stand to be more universal.

Now that I've had it for over half of my life, I would have to agree with you.

Well, for mortal folks who melt as soon as the temperature goes above 90 F ... [He laughs.] What is your favorite thing about it, Colonel?

Generally I like the things that most patriots try to downplay, if not forget entirely.

Empires are cannibals, devouring the lands around them. I feel for the native peoples, but I can't help admiring how well we ruined and stole everything around us. *He smiles, and it's a terrible thing.* My nature is the nature of so-called civilization, in the end. This is a consumer culture, a consuming culture; I merely follow in its footsteps.

It's... stunning, how much of the lower 48 thinks it's unnecessary.

I cannot say - I have not been very far south, or west, come to think of it. Is it bad down there?

Mostly on the coasts. Where it's... muggy. Humid. The heat isn't much, but the humidity is devastating.

I grew up in Sweden, so ... our summer's are very mild, rainy, and cloudy. I was melting the first time I came to the United States! But the air conditioning saved me a lot of the time. Is it much more humid than New York down south?

...fair. Stay north.

Virginia is particularly bad. I would recommend against it.

Virginia. Okay, I will remember to not go to Virginia. I have heard - mixed things, about the south.

That is an interesting viewpoint. Admittedly, I did not learn about American history extensively in Sweden, but I have done my own reading since coming to this country. It is ... well, atrocious, the way the indigenous tribes were eradicated almost to the point of extinction, now forced to live on minute sections of what was their land.

But you are right .. it is a very consuming culture, the world over.

The whole country is... a bit of a mixed bag. Most worth visiting, but... a mixed bag.

[He nods.] I suppose that is like most countries.

...really? I thought Europe was supposed to have itself together.

It does - for the most part. But recent events in France and Germany prove that we have our own issues to work out, as well.

More together for a willingness to admit it is not perfect.

[He considers.] Yes, I suppose you could say that. But Europe is not without its .. bad seeds. There are still many white supremacist groups. Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia is sort of its own - little pocket of Europe. We are significantly more socialist than the rest of the area.

Atrocious and inspiring, at least for me. If only I could devour so much!

But I am just one man, so I must be content with occasional passersby.

You missed your chance at a feast by a couple hundred years, I think. Or a hundred. I do not remember the timeline.

Oh, I don't know about that. Which one are you thinking of?

I think the only thing I can recall of my very brief introduction of American History is the Trail of Tears?

I wasn't a wendigo then, but it was in my lifetime. I'm a bit older than I look.

Oh .. [He laughs.] For some reason, I thought it happened in the 1700s, but as I said, my memory of the little American history I learned is .. less than stellar.

No, that was in the late 1830s. I had only just come to America, it was a bit of a harsh awakening to the fact that it wasn't just a land of plenty.