Sleepless and I love a reason to dress up and sing. With Independence Day upon us, we decided to host PatriotOke – a chance to don some red, white and blue while singing the blues or anything else you fancied.
We decided to ride together and I offered to make some pre-karaoke drinks should she and Ice Cream Man desire. They did desire, but Ice Cream Man was busy working and Sleepless was busy ironing American flags for the event. “He (Ice Cream Man) plans to wear them as a cape tonight,” she advised me. I couldn’t wait to see this. They arrived and Ice Cream Man was not wearing the cape. “I’m not ready for it yet,” he advised. Sleepless, however, was proudly holding one of the flags, “Look, we folded it properly.” They certainly had – Uncle Sam would have been proud.
We arrived at the bar to find several patrons. “It’s crowded tonight,” Sleepless observed. She was right. Typically, it is just us, the bartender and the karaoke master. There were at least ten patrons there who we did not know – although we might, if we checked public criminal records. Tonight, they were free (maybe not legally) and celebrating their independence. They quickly became a part of our patriotic celebrations – and we quickly gained a fan base. They were no longer just Americans, they were Amerifans!
Ice Cream Man eventually donned his cape, took his place onstage and sang a patriotic song. This and other patriotic songs reminded me of a name Pops always wanted to give one of his daughters: Merica. Not America, Merica. I shared this with Sleepless who was quite fond of the concept and suggested I consider a name change. “Then,” she told me, “People could sing, ‘We’re coming in Merica, today!'” Knowing the name change could come with a theme song made the concept somewhat tempting. Although, I’m not so sure about the ‘we’re’ part. I do, however, like the idea of Merifans.