I Remember

I remember still being in school on June 16th, 1982 and celebrating Flag Day in a parade around the school parking lot. I mostly hung out with a boy name Colin, the class lunatic, who had recently almost severed his thumb in a desk-climbing accident. I remember Colin turning to me and exclaiming “I’m patriotic because my thumb is red, white and blue too!”. Indeed it was, the thumb was bruised with blue stiches, slashed red and flaking with white bits of skin - disgusting but very first grade.