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STORY - Flag Day and Independence Day
Wonderful story Kathy! This year, we were treated to a wonderful show,
right in our back yard. I love the small town where I now live - we are miles away from any big fireworks show. The neighbors, our landlords, had their six kids and 30 grandkids over this weekend. The landlords own 30 or 40 acres of land all around here - including a big meadow, a huge barn where they have set up a raquetball court. All the land sits along a slope, and our house is next door and above theirs. A large creek runs along the land, past our house and theirs and along the meadow. They had a huge party in the meadow, which is about 200 feet away from our house, and down the hill a bit. The neighbors on the other side of the landlords bought fireworks aplenty from the local Indian Reservation. So did Ward and Carol. They do every year and then have competing shows. We can see the whole thing from our deck, with Mt. Si as a backdrop (with all those kids, do you think the adults can wait til it's dark to start??) It was amazing. See, being from Oregon, we aren't used to the kind of fireworks they can buy off the street here, not to mention the ones they can get at Indian Reservations. Wow. We went down to visit the big ole party before they started the fireworks, and they had a huge campfire and about 50 people all sitting in the meadow next to the creek. I was so happy to have been able to stay home for the 4th of July - when we lived in Portland we spent almost every 4th fighting traffic and people to find a place in one of the four or five huge firework shows. Here we have our house, with it's indoor bathroom, no traffic, neighbors to chat with, food, quiet (except for the fireworks of course, complete with homemade fireworks that I am sure are really dangerous) and a wonderful show. -- Kandice Seeber Air & Earth Designs http://www.lampwork.net "Kathy Nicklas-Varraso" wrote in message .com... The city in which I live has no official celebration for Independence Day, they celebrate on Flag Day instead. I really like it that way, there's boatloads to do in Boston on the 4th, and Flag Day is a really nice, family oriented celebration instead. First of all, there's the parade. Every child who shows up at the parade starting point gets to march and gets a flag. They love it - most have never been in a parade before. You see kids marching with scout troops, sports leagues, different elementary schools or to represent their neighborhood. Everyone cheers for the kids. The parade always starts with a large proportion of our police force in formation, sirens and lights a-blaring. A couple of lucky kids get to ride along with the cops, which looks like it would be the high point of their lives. Then come the Gold Star and the Blue Star mothers: mothers of people who died in the US armed services (gold) or are currently serving (blue). The thousands of people watching along the parade route give the moms a standing ovation. Then come the groups of kids, in no formation at all, interspersed with a couple of local bands, maybe two floats, Beulah the Buick, and a guy on stilts. The whole parade lasts maybe a half hour (to the spectator) or an hour (to the marchers). The end of the parade route is chaos, as all the kids break rank and run to their families. This isn't the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, that's for sure. Then everyone walks over to the ball field, where there are free hot dogs and cold drinks for all. There is also expensive bottled water or ice cream, but DD and P/T D know that I'm certainly not buying that stuff, especially since we always pack a cooler with goodies. Everyone gets something to eat, then the "boring" part of the night starts: A couple of speeches from local polititicians, telling us all how great they are. A flag the size of a football field is unfurled, and then an honor guard folds it up, after a group round of the Pledge of Allegiance and "God Bless America." (No separation of church and state here, no Siree.) A reminder is made for the Bill Degan 10K run. Bill Degan was a federal marshal who was killed at Ruby Ridge. To the rest of the country, those federal marshals deserved what they got. Here, it was different: Bill was just a popular high school athlete and local guy whose family needs support. Most people are amazed that the town supports the federal marshal in this, but to us it's a local family and he was just doing his job. After the flag part is over, all the families trudge uphill to a big, flat hammock. (Top of a hill that was flattened by glaciers) There's a grassy field up there, and it juts out over the bay. We all put down blankets, spray the kids with bug spray, and listen to them complain that it stings their eyes. Actual Exchange that takes place nine thousand times that night: Mom: [hissing noise] Here. I'm spraying you with bug spray because the mosquitoes will eat you alive. Don't put your fingers in your mouth or near your eyes. Kid, a half second later: Boo-hoo, it hurts, Mom! Help Me! Mom: Didn't I just tell you not to rub it in your eyes two seconds ago? Kid: I forgot. As dusk falls, around 9 p.m., the fireworks start. The DPW and the hired fireworks firm have set up a barge in the bay for safety. All the streetlights in the area are turned off, and in the twilight, you see thousands of people lying on beach blankets, watching the skies explode in color. It looks like it's so close you could touch it. Everyone ooohs and ahhhs over the beautiful display. The cannons go off, and little kids cover their ears not to hear the noise. At first you think it is silent except for the show, but then you hear the little rustlings of people turning to get a better look, brothers and sisters elbowing each other for fun, and old people creaking in their lawnchairs, which were brought down from the garage and hosed off for the occasion. It's all over by ten. Parents trudge down the hill, weighted down by coolers, beach blankets and a sleepy child draped over the shoulder. Bigger kids make plans to put their glow in the dark necklaces in the freezer to "save them." The air smells of gunpowder and bug repellent, and is warm and heavy. Every child, even the sleeping ones, has a little cloth flag grasped in her hand, carefully dated on the stick to comemorate the day the kids got to march in a parade. ----------------------------------------------- It's now July fourth. Tonight, quite possibly America's most famous fireworks display and concert will take place over the Esplanade in Boston. I haven't gone in years, although I did enjoy it when I did attend. If you don't know why I no longer attend the Esplanade event with the Boston Pops, read my story again. Every year, I remind myself how blessed I am to live in this community, as I carefully write the date on DD's little flag. To all you Americans today, happy Independence Day. To everyone else in the world, have a nice, calm Friday and have a cold one, on me. Kathy N-V |
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Here we have
our house, with it's indoor bathroom, no traffic, neighbors to chat with, food, quiet (except for the fireworks of course, complete with homemade fireworks that I am sure are really dangerous) and a wonderful show. -- Sounds like a perfect 4th of July to me. When we lived in California we were able to sit on our patio to watch the towns big display of fireworks. It was great. When my mom was alive I used to go to her hi-rise apt on the 10th floor to watch the display they have here downtown. I hate fighting crowds so I pretty much prefer to stay home on the 4th. Jo Jo |
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Barbara, my in-laws -- in St. Louis -- were having all their floors refinished
the week of the Fourth, so they went down to a hotel near the big fireworks displays and stayed there for a while! Great solution to the problems of parking, crowding, and floor-finishing fumes. :-) Here in St. Louis almost every little suburb has its own fireworks display. I just have to walk up to the park. About 1/2 mile. Buy a snocone. Throw a blanket out on the grass. Kick back and listen to whatever band is playing that year until dark, then watch the show. Afterwards we walk home down the middle of the street, as the cars aren't allowed on one side of the street almost all the way back to the house. It's like something out of the 1800's. So small-town. Right in the St. Louis suburbs. So much fun. Kirkwood has 25,000 people. There are about 20,000 in the park for the fireworks. It's great. Barbara Dream Master www.dreamweaverstudio.com ~~ Sooz ------- ESBC Dr. Sooz's Bead Links http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. ~ A. A. Milne |
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