5.02.2011

where were you?

It's 11pm on a sunday night, and thirteen of us are sitting in Andrew and Teddy's room staring at the projector. There's an empty pizza box on the floor (god knows how long it's been there) and somehow a dart stuck to the ceiling, and everyone is more or less transfixed by the screen.
Osama bin Laden is dead.

Rewind fifteen minutes. We're crowded around the couch trying to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and figuring out how to cope with the lack of dialogue. Valerie comes in.

Val: Guys, I just talked to my mom. Bin Laden is dead. We have his body. Obama's going to speak in like, five minutes.

I get running around for an ethernet cable so we can set up the iptv (of course, it's unnecessary by the time I get back). Naturally, it's another half hour before the president speaks. We kill the time listening to BBC coverage while watching the faces of the guys on NBC and imagining they've taken on the voices of British women (this is a little too hilarious for some of us to handle. It reminds me of those bitches on the History channel). Stefan is annoyed that we won't watch Fox.

The president speaks. Bin Laden is dead.

We stare at the screen for a little while longer (Andrew had needed a projector for a martial arts event last night, and I think it's glorious timing to have such a setup in his room). People in DC are freaking out. People in New York are freaking out. People everywhere are freaking out. Some of us decide to go down to the Rhode Island state house.

We grab a flag out of Sean's room. Two flags actually -- Andrew insists that we also represent Britain in our display of patriotism, because we are unilateral and value our allies. We think he's a bit silly. I grab my coat, and we head down to the only location of any civic significance in the city of Providence, and there is no one there, so we shout for a while and pretend to give speeches and pass around a single PBR.

Some drunk boys from Johnson & Wales turned up as well, shouting with us, and we left when they picked up a cinderblock and realized their potential. On the way back, we saw a bunny.

Nicole: An impromptu civil demonstration and a bunny! Best night ever!

Kelvin was angry that anyone was excited about the death of another human being. I see where he's coming from, but for a long time last night I just felt awesome. Sorry for partying, I guess.

Love always,
Clara

1 comment:

Lisa Maria Koßmann said...

Well, I agree with Kelving. Relieve is a justified feeling, but joy ...