I Like Americans

(Bennington, 1945, by Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma”
Moses, 1860-1961, American painter)

And so, we come to the end of our month-long celebration of the American experiment.

“I want no criticism of America at my table. The Americans criticize themselves more than enough,” said Winston Churchill (1874-1965), English statesman, writer, and historian.

I LIKE AMERICANS

I like Americans.
You may say what you will, they are the nicest people in the world.
They sleep with their windows open.
Their bathtubs are never dry.
They are not grown up yet. They still believe in Santa Claus.

They are terribly in earnest.
But they laugh at everything . . .

I like Americans.
They give the matches free . . .

I like Americans.
They are the only men in the world, the sight of whom in their shirt-sleeves is not rumpled, embryonic and agonizing . . .

I like Americans.
They carry such pretty umbrellas.
The Avenue de l’Opera on a rainy day is just an avenue on a rainy day.
But Fifth Avenue on a rainy day is an old-fashioned garden under a shower . . .

They are always rocking the boat.
I like Americans.
They either shoot the whole nickel, or give up the bones.
You may say what you will, they are the nicest people in the world.

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), American poet