The 4th of July always seemed dull and uneventful in Mesa, AZ. Don't get me wrong--I think the world of my birth place and homeland. But my family and I always seemed to venture out to the small towns in Arizona for this holiday. In St. Johns, AZ, for instance, the 4th of July celebration is one of the defining moments of the town. As a result, I did my best to persuade our 5 man singing group known as E5 to make the 4 hour trip for a coveted spot in the 4th of July program in St. Johns. Only problem was, we didn't know where to stay. Some way or another, we ended up at the Days Inn a few blocks from the city square where the program would take place. While not necessarily nervous or excited about our performance, we felt some pressure to do our best at a show that is normally composed of that same guy that wears a Bolo Tie and sings Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" and that same woman who wears a sparkling red, white and blue outfit while singing a much too complicated version of the Star Spangled Banner. Whatever responsibility we felt, however, was overshadowed by our relative immaturity, and then amplified by our friend "Billy". 5 guys from high school sharing a room together is hardly the environment for prudence and good manners. I was actually surprised the next morning when nothing had been broken yet. We were all taking our turns in the shower trying to look good for the small town girls, when "Billy" came out and announced that it was my turn.

"Steve, it's your turn to take a shower!"
"OK."
"No, really, Steve, come take a shower."

At this point I became a little suspicious. Those suspicions multiplied as "Joe" and "Mike" both came out of the bathroom red in the face from laughing. "Great," I thought. "What did "Billy" do this time?" I cautiously entered the bathroom, accompanied by all 4 of my friends. We all watched as "Billy" proudly pulled open the shower curtain. There are few times when the words "Holy crap" actually fit the situation, but this was definitely one of them. "Billy" had an apparently dislike for the toilet in our hotel room, and had left a present for me in the tub. That morning, I did not shower.