For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the holiday, it is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that is widely recognized as the birth of the modern American nation. Of course, a war had still yet to be fought to solidify the matter, but most Americans recognize July 4, 1776, as the day when America formally took matters into her own hands and became a de facto independent entity from Great Britain.
It is celebrated with barbecue parties and fireworks, generally speaking. People don patriotic clothing and put on displays of the American flag.
I was supposed to be going to see the Tall Ships at some point during the weekend, but opted against it this past weekend, having seen it with my son and some friends the prior weekend, while it was in Philadelphia. If interested, I wrote an article on this for both Take Off/Set Sail, as well as a blog entry here published some days ago.
So, there was little time left to do anything, and I was watching my son during the earlier part of the day, and without specific plans for the latter part. I figured it would be a quiet afternoon/evening with my girlfriend, lounging out at home. Perhaps watching a movie.
Instead, we went to some friends who were hosting a nice barbecue. The food was delicious, and it was a fun afternoon/evening. Someone even brought fireworks, although that was with limited success. The first one was fired while it was still very much daylight, and as soon as it ended - literally the second it stopped - we heard the unmistakable sound of a child crying, so that there could be no doubt that the crying had been the result of the firework.
Still, there were four fireworks left. All of the women present were opposed, and they literally all went in once the fireworks started to be fired again. The second one came while it was getting dark, but not fully there yet. The third one went up relatively nicely, the fourth went straight to a nearby tree and simply died there. The final one went off without a hitch, and that was the end of our fireworks.
But it had been a very enjoyable evening, indeed. I cut off my drinks at two (they prefer brandy mixes), with a couple of hours between when I finished the second one, and when I would have to drive again (I was heading straight to my job afterwards). With the timing in between, plus the massive amount of food consumed, I hardly even remember feeling a buzz. You have to play it safe, because drinking and driving is simply too risky. Also, even if I felt good about my driving, if I had persisted and gotten pulled over, that could have been my license, which also would have gone on my record, and possibly cost my job. Those are stakes that you just do not want to test too much. There are times that you have to play it safe.
On the way to work, there was a massive fireworks display by Piscataway. It seemed to be the grand finale, and many people were pulled over on the highway, watching, so I decided to do the same. It really was spectacular, and completed my Fourth of July with a really impressive fireworks display, just the way I like it!
The next day, I had invited my brother to join my son and I at the park, where we hoped to be able to enjoy some swimming, perhaps building sand castles and just a day of leisure. Who knows? Maybe another barbecue.
However, the parks were all full, and we had driven around extensively to several parks, just to be sure.
We ate lunch at an ice cream place that also served real food (my brother and I both got Gyros), my son only got fries and ice cream, and enjoyed some nice ice cream to cool off on a hot day. Finally, we wound up at a pond nearby my parent's house, and just enjoyed some outdoor time there, with my son testing out the water blaster, which he enjoyed immensely.
Oh, and just in case you underestimate the dangers of fireworks, two stories came out that should give you pause for thought.
One was of a man from Maine who, for some reason, set off fireworks from his head. He died instantly, and those who witnessed it said that it was a very gruesome sight.
Finally, there was a prominent NFL player, New York Giants linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, who also did a little lighting of fireworks on his own. He ended up severely burning his hand, and the Giants pulled a $60 million contract that they had offered him after the incident. Pierre-Paul might miss some of the upcoming training camp, preseason, and possibly regular season as well, and maybe the Giants decided to do this to gain greater leverage. Maybe that, or they really are worried about the extent of his injuries.
Not to pour salt on the wound, but just what the hell was he thinking, anyway? When you have that much going for you, and you take risks like he apparently took in being that close to fireworks, who else can you blame but yourself?
And I am not even going to get into what that guy in Maine might have been thinking.
In any case, here is hoping again that every American reading this had a good holiday weekend!
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