Independence Day 2007
We left the house a little bit later than we had planned. That’s because I slept through “Arthur” and started cooking breakfast past eight o’clock. At ten past nine, we were heading out the door. We drove the mile that we would have walked if it weren’t so dang hot. The town was having a Fourth of July parade. We found a spot under a shady tree and saw the fire engines, police motorcycles and horses, kids on their go-carts, bicycles, skateboards, and scooters, all decked in Americana, soldiers, and sailors go up the road. The parade ended at the park where booths were set up for selling burgers and sno-cones.
It’s the park that we usually visit, but today, there were so many people, Ty didn’t know what to do. He was overwhelmed quickly. Kyle stayed with Dad while I chased after Ty with Taylor in my arms. Ty took his shoes off as he always does before playing and walked up and down the playground a dozen times, climbing on one thing and quickly hopping off. We were saved by the commencement ceremony. The Boy Scout troop recited the pledge of allegiance, including “under God.” A girl sang the national anthem, and she did a really good job of it. The Mistress of Ceremony announced the fly-over, so Dad said that he wanted to stay for at least that. We ate hamburgers and sno-cones, juggled the children who were getting really hot, really bored, and really stubborn really fast.
And we saw the fly-over. It was loud. I think I may have seen a fly-over before, but I will definitely always remember this one. Three jets flew low, right above the park and the crowd. I was inundated with American pride.
Very cool.
We walked our way back to the car and drove home. As we approached the house, we saw the three jets again, most likely doing another fly-over as they were heading the same way.
In the spirit of American freedom, I sat the boys down, after a visit from my mother-in-law, and we watched clips of the movie 1776.
Every year, I ponder the men who put their signatures on a document that could have been the reason for their hangings. Any colony that opposed independence would have been forced to fight on the side of England, so it was important that the thirteen colonies be unanimous in rebellion. They put their necks on the line to develop a fair democracy.
If we can call ourselves free today, it is because of these men and the people who continue to do their noble work.
