Happy
Fourth of July!!! And, of course, this post will have to do with past
celebrations. I don’t remember much about July 4th when I was a kid
growing up. I remember having sparklers, but I don’t remember any huge
fireworks shows or the neighbors having fireworks to blast off on that night.
I
think my first July 4th memory was when AJ was still small enough
for John to piggyback him around. In those days, the public fireworks were held
at Green Lake in Seattle. John’s dad lived close by the lake and we parked in his
driveway because parking was at a premium. I remember AJ walked down to the
lake where we found a place to sit and watch. Afterwards, he was way too tired
to walk clear back to the car, so John gave him a ride. I wonder if AJ
remembers that?
John
loved fireworks and I don’t remember just when he began to order them from some
place back east. This huge box of (illegal I’m sure) fireworks would arrive the
end of June and we’d have a huge party with family and friends every year. Most
of the neighbors back then usually left to go to their summer places or on vacation or, espeically if they had kids, came to our party. Only Mrs. Johnson who lived on the corner would be home and she was a
crabbypants.
At
some point during this time, a friend of John’s knew someone who put on those
huge fireworks shows held on Elliott Bay and Lake Union. I remember John and
several of his friends going to see this guy. They couldn’t believe how casual
this guy was about the fireworks he had in his home. They were stacked all over
the place and he SMOKED cigarettes without a thought. Anyway, John bought some
of those big ones that blow up and look like a chrysanthemum in the sky. They
scared the absolute heck out of me, but we never had an accident. John would
put the launcher for those in the back yard away from everyone so he was the
only person in peril if something went wrong.
We
still laugh about the year Mrs. Johnson called the fire department. There we
are, all out in front of the house. I believe Thor was about two or so and we
had him and his cousin corralled in a playpen. The fire truck comes driving up
the street and has a few words with John and some of the other guys. It then
proceeds up the street to turn around. That’s when John lit a cherry bomb. Everyone
is laughing, especially AJ who was maybe 11 or 12. The fire truck returns and
the driver says, “Who set that off?”
Without
missing a beat, AJ turns and goes, “Dad, they want to talk to you.”
Yep,
he turned his own dad in. John got a stern talking to, the fire truck left and
we proceeded with our celebration.
We
eventually stopped having parties and went to our friend’s farm instead. I
remember one-year John took one of his huge flower fireworks. He and our friend
set it up and lit it off after dark. The entire valley echoed that blast for
what seemed like forever. If we hadn’t been in the country, the police would
most likely have shown up.
Not
once did we ever go to Lake Union or Elliott Bay. The closest we came was to go
to a friend’s house that was on the hill above the freeway just south of
Northgate. From there we could see the show on Lake Union. I cannot now
remember if we were able to see the one on Elliott Bay as well. I do know there
are places in Seattle where you can see both shows simultaneously.
For
the last however long, our friend Ken would have a July 4th potluck
and picnic. We always went, but there were never any fireworks and we returned
home long before dark. John usually went to bed before it got dark enough for
the firework shows on television. I’d sit up and watch them, changing between
channels to see what was going on first at Lake Union and then Elliott Bay.
This year, I haven’t heard anything about any sort of fireworks show, but if
there is, I’ll watch it on television as I’ve done for many years now.
And,
may I say how grateful I am to have the memories I’ve recounted here. There are
many more of the people who came to our parties, the food we made and ate, the
people at Ken’s celebration and the yummy food there. So, fireworks or no, I’ll make sure I eat very
well today and enjoy the memories stored in my file cabinet. I’ll also, most likely,
curse all the fools out there who are lighting firecrackers and fireworks until
early morning…I absolutely do hate that.