BBQs and firework

Well, it's the 4th.  Happy Independence Day!

Ironically, as I've grown up, the 4th of July has become less and less an event in my life.  As a kid, I remember huge BBQs at church with tables and tables of food strewn throughout parks and/or grassy settings.  Everything looked and smelled good, but in reality, there was too many types of food to try.

Corn on the cob?  Yes, please.  Potato salad?  Of course.  Deviled eggs?  Right here.  Green salad?  Okay.  Fruit salad?  Pile it on.  Mashed potatoes?  Let me find room...  Hamburger?  Hot dog?  Polish sausage?  CHEESEburger?  Uhm, one of each?


And then I'd spy a child's dream come true: the dessert table.  Mmmm.  Desserts.  By far my favorite genre of food.  One plate could never be enough to fit all of the lovely creations weighing down the tables.  One year I think we even had a cotton candy machine.  Oooh, yeah.  And honestly, it's a potluck BBQ...I don't want to offend anyone by not trying their dessert, right?  I always visited the tables until my parents would tell me I was banned from the desserts.

There would always be a lot of people milling about, some eating, some talking, and children always playing.  The 4th of July has always been a very friendly, happy holiday.  At some point in the evening, lawn chairs would get folded back into cars and blankets picked up from the ground and people would make their way to viewing spots along the banks of the river.

I vaguely remember fireworks as a kid.  I know they always seemed to start later than I wanted, but they were the prettiest things I'd ever seen.  What's better than that?  Fresh air, friends and family, the night sky, and fireworks.  I didn't care about throngs of people invading my space, or pesky mosquitos looking for a late night meal.  It was happy.

Sadly, as I grew up, we stopped attending big BBQs, although my family would congregate to eat a big BBQ meal together.  My parents stopped attending the fireworks, claiming there were too many people, especially too many drunk people.

However, at this point, I learned something fantastic.  I could climb onto the roof and watch the fireworks show... no car ride or rude people to deal with.  And not only could I see the city's big show, I could see the neighbors' fireworks as well.  Perfect.

I'm lucky to have grown up here in the States and have wonderful family and friends.  So, here's to an American childhood and the freedom we have to do whatever we please...even if it is eating 20 billion desserts.