Uniculture

Anne approached Roy as they waited for the elevator after work.“Are you going to the work luncheon tomorrow?” she asked.

“No. Tomorrow’s my independence day,” replied Roy.

“It’s September 29th,” replied Anne. She looked at Roy quizzically.

“Exactly. It’s the day I moved out of my parents’ house and started out on my own,” explained Roy.

“You celebrate that?” asked Anne.

“Absolutely. It gives me identity. You see, I’m a mixture of a bunch of ethnic backgrounds, so I have no real connection to one. I don’t have any traditions to speak of.”

“So you made your own?” asked Anne.

“That’s right. There’s my independence day, the day of my religious commitment, even a week long celebration for my personal retreat. I refer to it as my uniculture,” said Roy.

“Is that why you always go away the first week of December?”

“Yep.”

“What about Thanksgiving and Christmas?”

“I still do those, but they’re additions to my personal culture,” said Roy.

“And you celebrate these all by yourself? Sounds kinda lonely,” said Anne.

“Maybe for now. If I find someone to share them with, we’ll surely make some new culture together,” said Roy.

“Sounds romantic,” sighed Anne.

Roy raised an eyebrow and gave Anne a questioning glance. “Care to join me tomorrow?”

Anne shrugged. “Why not? It sounds more fun that a boring work meeting.”

Roy smiled. “Sounds like a new culture already.”