It's Important

A long line of over 9,000 people to see a train today.  Children under sixth grade accompanied by an adult.  I didn’t want to be here today.  What do you mean I don’t understand freedom?  What is there to understand anyways?  And what do they mean by “American heritage?”  I kept asking my mom these questions and she told me we talked all about it at the dinner table and Pop explained everything after reading the paper each night. 

      “You must not have been listening,” she concluded and then turned back to Dr. Morgan Williams’s speech.  It was so early in the morning, I wondered how he could stand yelling at us from the railroad tracks, when the air was still wet and cold with dew and half the people in the audience were yawning.  I yawned again.  And again.  Then Mother cupped my face in her chin and told me sternly to stop yawning.  But I couldn’t help it. 

      I’d much rather go see one of the movies showing tonight, but Mother says we’ll be here all day. And so will the train.

      “It’s important,” she says, “it represents our freedom!  Aren’t you excited?”  I try my very best to nod up and down and then again when Mother scolds my yawning.

      I see my pal Dan a few feet away, next his mother, wearing the cap he’s not allowed to wear in school.  We wave at each other and yawn at each other.  Both of our mothers scold us. We’re both thankful that at least we’re not in school.

      Then I decide to pay attention for once, just to see what all the fuss is about.  The train itself—it’s not much to look at.  Just a few metal-covered logs with black windows and two stripes on its nose that look like two mustaches. Then a big light in the middle, like a big, bright nose.  On its side are the words, “SPIRIT OF 1776” and then a bird right next to that, an eagle.

      This is the Freedom Train, a staple and reminder to the faithful citizens of America of their patriotic attitude throughout the nation’s history. The train housed historical American documents and artifacts dating back to the country’s birth.

Morgan Williams is almost done with his speech and then all we have to do is wait in line until it’s time for our turn to view the historical train. But all they’re going to have is historical artifacts and papers written by dead men. It’s making me yawn already.

      Mom squeezes my shoulder, noticing everything I do. I don’t know why she doesn’t just enjoy herself instead of watching me yawn. But then whispers in my ear, “Please be respectful son. We really do need this. Our country needs this.”

      After that, I reluctantly kept my mouth closed and to this day, I feel privileged that the Freedom Train made one of its stops in Kankakee. It was still a boring day for the most part, you can’t blame me, I was only nine years old, but it was over before I knew it and the Freedom Train sped off to its next stop at the end of the day.