Tell Them I Said Freedom..Niagra Falls

With morning easing into the afternoon, our troop finally made it to the most northern point we shall travel, Buffalo, NY. With free time to meet and greet the falls and its visitors, I wandered to the observation tours photo index. Each photo placed on the board next to a cash register was ready and awaiting the person within the picture to buy it.

Shots of uncomfortable smiles, odd spatial gaps between fighting siblings, parents who have to hide the fact they made their children be quiet, newly weds with a newfound glow, and troupes of people elderly couples traveling with a group tour of Buffalo seemed to make me laugh. Why do they all come here? Again, I felt unimpressed by a wonder of the world, and wonder why so many people across America go to this destination.

Tami asked me, “Is this your picture?” I looked at the picture of a family that she assumed to be mine. It was of four boys. No Tami that is not a picture of me. I am a girl. We both let loose an uncomfortable chuckle when I answered with a loud no. She has worked here at Niagara for four years. Phew, I think.

“What do you think it means to be American?” I nonchalantly slip into our conversation about living in Buffalo. Apparently she has always lived there and has no clue why people visit besides the tourist hype. “Tell them I said freedom,” she says after resistance to answering the question.

“Do you go to Canada a lot?” I try to change the subject. Yes, all the time. “Why?” I push for more. “You can do anything there. You can smoke a blunt there and not be bothered. But here its not like that,” she relayed. Apparently, America limits her especially living so close to the border. At twenty-one she says that going out is not worth it because she cannot go to a club without the police coming to break it up. Like El Paso drug trafficking is an issue, so police have a tight rain on Americans.

I am not sure if I agree that Canadians smoke pot easily nor am I saying this is good or bad. It is just interesting that this girl thinks her answer to my question if what makes her American is freedom, but everything else she discusses is telling me she feels imprisoned by police.