the people were already swarming the point unloading and staking their claim on independence day at 8:30 preparing to grill the beast. 

the word of the day for independence day is nostrum, one of those words you heard and think you know what it means but you are vague: panacea, hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects. An ineffective but favorite remedy for a problem, usually involving political action. nominative neuter of noster. Mare Nostrum was an emergency solution to a humanitarian crisis, so closing it was a huge and intolerable step backward. It was an illusion to think that cutting off Mare Nostrum would prevent people from attempting this dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean.