“The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”

Truth or dare?

Christina Murphy, Bountiful Bench, 2012. A collaboration among the Chicago Park District, Chicago Sculpture International, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events

I like to sing to Lila while I walk her. I sung to Eppy too, my first dog, adopted in 2001. I can’t hear 2001 without the whisper of 9/11 in the air, and those 20-year-old images flashing behind my eyes… the sun coming in through my living room window, the way it obscured my TV screen that morning, rushing out to visit my grandmother, later talking with neighbors in the park, furtively glancing overhead.

When I adopted Lila, the singing began again. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it in the four years I was dog-less — not that I’m a good singer, mind you — it’s just fun. My song selections are eclectic — some old, some Spanish, others are TV commercials or made-up words telling stories about my dogs.

Lila came to me in July 2020. That flashback is visceral, still raw; no need to detail it, everyone has their own image. Yet I wonder what will come to mind 20 years from now when I look back on the pandemic, George Floyd, isolation, chaos.

That summer I chose to sing the national anthem. I know the words because when I was a kid, I watched a lot of Chicago Cubs baseball with my dad. I can still hear Jack Brickhouse wailing a millisecond after the final strains of the national anthem — “…and the home of the brave-Play ball!” Back then it was comforting, like…