The author of this post is Rawn James, Jr. It was posted earlier, but inadvertently removed from the site. Our apologies to the commenters who had already chimed in!

The first line of The Godfather is spoken by the broken undertaker whose daughter’s attackers have escaped justice. “I believe in America,” Buonasera tells the camera and the Godfather. In one of the most well-acted single takes in American cinema, the proud middle-aged immigrant sobs impotent fury that such crime and injustice can exist in the only nation on Earth ever founded on an ideal.

In the wake of our nation’s 231st birthday, perhaps we all could use a bit of Buonasera’s undaunted idealism. When he asks Vito Corleone for justice, he implicitly is asking the don to validate his faith in America. When we step into a bar after a day’s work, we’re looking for a drink, good company and a good deal. Sometimes we can find more. On lucky evenings, we can find ourselves seated at one of those bars that manages to remind us that we live in a great city. On rare occasions, and usually after the barkeep has placed that second draft on our napkins, the scenes and sounds of the bar remind us that, for all its flaws, we’re living in the capital of the greatest country in the world. If this feeling ever does strike you, there’s a good chance that you’re sitting one story beneath the sidewalk, in the underground glory that is Recessions Lounge.

Photo of Recessions from Catherine A, used with permission.