1. Parades.I love the color, the music, the noise. My favorite bands are the fife and drum corps and the bagpipes.
2. Fireworks. Don't know which I like better the colors in the night sky or the shock wave from the explosion passing through your body. And then there's the tang of cordite. One year, we took my nephew to a display in the next town over. The shells were shot right over the crowd's head. At the end, a smoldering shell lining dropped inches from where we sat! Scary! Now, we watch the fireworks from a very safe distance from The Brother's deck. I also love watching the televised events on the esplanade in Boston listening to the Boston Pops, the 1812 Overture with the live Howitzer cannons and then the fireworks over the harbor.
3. Sparklers. Thin metal sticks coated with aluminum and magnesium filings. When lit, they throw off sparks. Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts. Maybe sparklers were illegal when I was a kid, but we had them. Was like having your own personal fireworks. A wonder we didn't set ourselves on fire.
4. Cookouts. When I was in my teens and twenties, we used to have a big family cookout at my uncle's. A big Italian cookout. Sausage and chicken on the grill besides hamburgers and hotdogs. Roasted peppers. Eggplant Parmagiana, and a big cake to celebrate:
5. My parents' wedding anniversary. They were married on the Fourth of July in 1943. This year, they will be celebrating their 67th wedding anniversary.
Do you celebrate the Fourth of July? What do you like best about the holiday?
Happy 4th of July CJ!
ReplyDeleteI love the parades. When my kids were little we would point out all the cool floats. Their criteria for a cool float was "...but do they throw candy?" This year will be the first year in a while we have no one in the marching band.
And I love the fireworks. We have a small hill a few blocks from us with a great view of the fireworks, and with no traffic, it's great.
And we usually watch a PBS 4th, love the music and the cannons.
67 years, wow, that's a very long time.
I'm not big on parades. Weird, I know, but I love fireworks and love the get-togethers with family!
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