Standing in the rain looking in. The windows have flowered curtains drawn back making a perfect view. Bowls are passed. Meat is cut. Mom and dad sit at the ends of the table. Kids drinking milk; a boy and a girl. She has pony tails and he’s wearing a Speed Racer tee-shirt. Dad has loosened his tie from work. Mom has a smile on her face. Her cheeks are rose colored. Blonde hair in a bun. She eats delicately. They all eat delicately. Savoring each bite. And here I am standing in the rain. Watching. Looking at America. People unaware of just how close we are to catastrophe.

Pie is served. Coffee is poured. Kids have left the table. Mom and dad retire to the living room where a television is turned on; some singing competition featuring the best of today’s youth. Mom keeps smiling while dad falls asleep in his recliner. I wonder what he is dreaming about? Perhaps his secretary in the mini-skirt. Maybe he’s thinking of stock dividends. The market was up today. Just you wait.

Upstairs the kids play video games. The boy keeps looking at his phone. His sister seems set on destroying the world. Killing as many as possible on the screen. It is his turn. In one stroke he wipes out an entire colony. This is what dreams are made of. They high-five each other.

Mom has entered the room. She kisses the boy on the forehead and closes the shades. Then she hugs her daughter. Mom’s job is done for the day. She draws the curtains in her room and comes downstairs later in a thick white robe. She turns off lights in the living room. Dad remains asleep.

Goodnight America.