Happy Fourth of July! Read what I am doing this year on this very special date. There’s more on a day that has brought mixed fortunes to people around me. Plus, a friend may be dating the wrong person and a geek’s guide to take care of the machine you are reading this on! Tune in…

Inspiration has a strange way of getting to you. You never know when it’s been injected into your system. This bare fact was reiterated to me when Ethan and Emily came up to me in my cubicle. Since they stepped into their teens, the children of Donna did not visit us at the office as they used to. When I saw them I knew it was something special that they wanted to tell me. It really was. Ethan and Emily were conducting a celebratory event of the Fourth of July. Their theme is that invitees have to speak about what they think of freedom in the modern sense. “We want to know what liberty means to people who have never known what it is to be under chains,” Emily told me. I was taken aback, not by the topic but by the fact that they had decided on such a meaningful thing to discuss.

I asked them what inspired such a thought. Ethan told me they used to listen to Fred talk about how he felt proud to be an American. It triggered memories. Fred used to have all these discussions with Donna over many important questions like war veterans, medical aids for their families, etc. Ethan and Emily used to listen to Fred talk with authority and the detached abundance of a confident parent. I had no idea then that his words will form such a deep impression on these young minds. They must have been talking while I wandered off into the maze of memories. Ethan’s light nudge brought me back. “Will you come?” Emily asked me expectantly. I nodded my approval with a smile. But I’ll have to prepare something that I can say. It better be special because I have a feeling that they are expecting me to come up with something extraordinary.

Frank is gearing up to arrange a party himself! Frank’s grandfather had moved to America from Canada. So this year, Frank has decided to do something to honor the memory of his grandfather. Eleanor will help him out, of course! Frank wants to arrange for a barbecue for friends and family. He’s asked Eleanor’s son Mike to come down with his family for an extended fun-filled weekend. Actually his intention is to have Andrew with him. Frank confided in me, “It would be nice to have my grandson on an event that I’m celebrating in memory of my grandfather!” Then he burst out in that contagious laughter of his. I joined in and raised the drink in my hand as a toast to that.

On another side, Kate has a special connection with Canada as well. Her family in Iowa will move to that country for a week. Kate’s aunt, who apparently had a lot to do with Kate’s childhood, is ill. Her aunt had gone to her daughter’s place when she first discovered the seriousness of her illness. Kate is quite upset that she won’t be able to make that trip with her family to visit her ailing aunt. When Kate told me this through helpless tears, I realized yet again how chained we are in our daily lives. It’s not her weakness that Kate can’t cut open her threads and go off to visit her aunt. It’s just that we live in times when we have to make ugly choices. The worst part is not the choice. It’s the burden to validate it as the right thing to do at that point of time.

Megan is seeing another guy! Santos works in the same restaurant that Megan works in as a sous-chef. He’s joined in very lately. And to think of it, Santos has taken an instant liking to Megan. I have a strong feeling that Megan may have agreed to go out with Santos because of all the dating advice flooding over from all corners. Kate and Irina went after her with loads of love stories and lessons learnt from them. I say this because from what Megan told me about Santos, he doesn’t seem like her type of guy. I mean Megan would never like her partner to whistle out to a waiter when he’s a sous-chef himself! It just speaks so much about this guy, you know. Megan has always had it for guys who are well-behaved, polished and respectful enough to call people decently.

I got a clear hint that Megan was dating just to tide over her loneliness. Megan was talking about Santos in tones that made it seem like an effort. It was as if Megan was trying to convince herself that she has made the right choice. I wouldn’t believe it if Megan told me that Santos was for keeps. Megan was making all the right noises on his behalf and that is what prompts my doubt. I have noted that Megan is generally critical of people who actually appeal to her. Between us friends, Megan would be analytical about everything because that’s second nature to her. It’s only when people don’t matter to her that Megan hides her conflicts between expectation and reality. I just hope that Megan knows that a compromised date is a worse idea than being alone.

Steve was telling me that internet security is a bigger concern these days. For the uninitiated, other than being one of my best friends, Steve is the resident geek tech person in our office. He told me that people are clicking on arbitrary links these days and becoming fodder for virus attacks. Steve suggests that prevention was better than get-well-soon remedies. Curious about my own internet use, I told him that other than research, I only use it to connect with my friends and stay in touch with them. Steve told me point blank that just because I don’t venture into unknown territory doesn’t necessarily mean my computer is safe. “Your contact information is very much vulnerable, even if you don’t carry out financial deals over the internet,” Steve told me.

I was feeling unsettled. So I decided to bait him further. I told him that I always visit sites which are listed as safe. Steve asked me a bland but incisive question, “Do all girls who look nice and act nice really nice?” I nodded that I accepted his point. I told him that many people I know turn off their computers when they feel that they have inadvertently downloaded a possible malware link. Steve corrected me here as well. He told me that once the malware got into the system, switching it off won’t cure things. You will have to get the right antidote, in this case a software, to counter the havoc. Steve’s words of caution ruffled me. But he encouraged me saying, “Everything has a bad side. You and I have it too. Doesn’t make us villains, does it?”

Here’s a Dick Cheney quote that Ethan and Emily strongly believes in: “It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.”