happy birthday, America! :)
I don't know why the 4th is such a special holiday for me. Maybe because, as I was growing up, we had a place on the river. It was just a piece of land, I know, but the family would gather there every 4th of July, and we'd party. Kids and grown-ups alike would swim, get sun-burned, eat way too much Kentucky Fried Chicken (before it was KFC, thank you very much!) and load up on the desserts everyone brought. Then, as the sun went down, the moms would clear away most of the food and we'd bring out the blankets, folding chairs, and towels, and we'd gather on 'the point' to watch the show.
Our little piece of land was 4 acres of river-front property, back before living on the lake was cool. It was actually more of a peninsula, with a prominent point that stuck out into the main channel. We were only three coves down from Camp Thunderbird on Lake Wylie and the Buster Boyd Bridge. Since the fireworks were sponsored by the local housing community, River Hills, and there is a LOT of money in there, the Thunderbird display was always phenomenal, enough to rival downtown Charlotte and even Carowinds. And my family had a front-row seat to it all.
About mid-afternoon, denizens of the lake would start puttering their boats toward the bridge, each determined to get the best seat in the house. By the time the sun went down, the boats were anchored so close together that we could literally have jumped off the point and walked to the bridge from boat to boet. I hate to tell them, but the best seat was where my family was, gathered on the point, each of the kids looking up at the sky, starry-eyed with awe as we waited breathlessly for the show to begin. I can still smell the sulfur and smoke that drifted to us on the wind, still feel the pulse of that first huge explosion as it went through us, and still feel the catch in my throat and the beat of my heart as that first awesome flash washed over me and my family, lighting all of our faces and the smiles, oohs, and ahhs that accompanied the show. In our more prosperous years, Daddy and some of my uncles would make a pilgrimage into SC to buy the best fireworks available to the general public, and Dad would put on his own show prior to 'the main attraction'. We often got cheers and ovations of our own, even before Camp Thunderbird sent up the first exploding bit of joy. :) I remember that there were times when my brother, Chuck, and I would fall asleep in the car as the adults dealt with clean-up after the fireworks were over. A day spent swimming and playing meant a very quiet ride home for my parents. :) I can even remember being carried into the house, my head snuggled on Daddy's shoulder, as Mom shifted Chuck in her arms and unlocked the door to the apartment we called home at the time. Later, we would move a trailer onto that same piece of land, in a bid to try to buy the land before our hundred-year lease was up.
We had to give up that land years ago. It became 'cool' to live on the lake, and all of a sudden the little piece of land that we lived on became a hot commodity. My mom and dad sold the LEASE for the land for enough cash to buy, outright, a new trailer and a piece of land, so that we could move into SC. The land was nearly 30 acres, which my folks still own and have just put their new house on. The new place is a modular home, but gorgeous! I can't wait till it's ready for them to move in. And next summer, perhaps we'll be staying with them, in the attic they've designated the 'guest area', for when all their chicks come home to roost for holidays and other visits.
Today, my family celebrated with a pool party at my aunt's house. Tonight, I'm guessing that my parents, brothers, cousin Arwen and her son spent the evening on Mom and Dad's new deck, watching the same fireworks show we watched throughout my youth, only from the other side of the lake. :)
Me? Well, I packed some more boxes, had a beer while Sal and I ate dinner, then we took some stuff to storage. Came back, watched True Blood from last week and forgot all about the fireworks in town until the dogs started barking wildly. Skittles, Sam's dog, is horribly afraid of thunder, and has trouble differentiating between cannons and thunder. :P I can't blame her. It DID sound like that. :) So after True Blood, I took a nice cold beer and went to sit out on our front porch.
Turns out I had a wonderful seat. :) From my front porch, which faces due west, I was able to see three different spectacular fireworks shows. I couldn't see Lincolnton's, but I could hear it and even feel it for the larger explosions. But off in the distance, I could see several different displays being put on. All of them ended at about the same time, which was neat. I could hear Lincolnton's and occasionally I could see the flashes over the trees to the south. Off to the west, I could see what I assume to be Shelby's display. And a smaller one slightly northwest of that. Someone was firing cannons, and I know that there's a Civil War re-enactment group around here that fires muskets on special occasions like the 4th and New Year.
Today might have been spent packing, loading, unloading, stacking, and otherwise getting stuff done for our impending move, but I was still able to enjoy that part of the 4th that means the most to me... the celebration of our nation's birth. Even though I spent the whole day a bit petulant because I really wanted to be with my family at the pool party, I found that all I really needed was to sit on my own front porch and sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' softly, to myself, as fireworks went off all around me.
Happy birthday, America.
Our little piece of land was 4 acres of river-front property, back before living on the lake was cool. It was actually more of a peninsula, with a prominent point that stuck out into the main channel. We were only three coves down from Camp Thunderbird on Lake Wylie and the Buster Boyd Bridge. Since the fireworks were sponsored by the local housing community, River Hills, and there is a LOT of money in there, the Thunderbird display was always phenomenal, enough to rival downtown Charlotte and even Carowinds. And my family had a front-row seat to it all.
About mid-afternoon, denizens of the lake would start puttering their boats toward the bridge, each determined to get the best seat in the house. By the time the sun went down, the boats were anchored so close together that we could literally have jumped off the point and walked to the bridge from boat to boet. I hate to tell them, but the best seat was where my family was, gathered on the point, each of the kids looking up at the sky, starry-eyed with awe as we waited breathlessly for the show to begin. I can still smell the sulfur and smoke that drifted to us on the wind, still feel the pulse of that first huge explosion as it went through us, and still feel the catch in my throat and the beat of my heart as that first awesome flash washed over me and my family, lighting all of our faces and the smiles, oohs, and ahhs that accompanied the show. In our more prosperous years, Daddy and some of my uncles would make a pilgrimage into SC to buy the best fireworks available to the general public, and Dad would put on his own show prior to 'the main attraction'. We often got cheers and ovations of our own, even before Camp Thunderbird sent up the first exploding bit of joy. :) I remember that there were times when my brother, Chuck, and I would fall asleep in the car as the adults dealt with clean-up after the fireworks were over. A day spent swimming and playing meant a very quiet ride home for my parents. :) I can even remember being carried into the house, my head snuggled on Daddy's shoulder, as Mom shifted Chuck in her arms and unlocked the door to the apartment we called home at the time. Later, we would move a trailer onto that same piece of land, in a bid to try to buy the land before our hundred-year lease was up.
We had to give up that land years ago. It became 'cool' to live on the lake, and all of a sudden the little piece of land that we lived on became a hot commodity. My mom and dad sold the LEASE for the land for enough cash to buy, outright, a new trailer and a piece of land, so that we could move into SC. The land was nearly 30 acres, which my folks still own and have just put their new house on. The new place is a modular home, but gorgeous! I can't wait till it's ready for them to move in. And next summer, perhaps we'll be staying with them, in the attic they've designated the 'guest area', for when all their chicks come home to roost for holidays and other visits.
Today, my family celebrated with a pool party at my aunt's house. Tonight, I'm guessing that my parents, brothers, cousin Arwen and her son spent the evening on Mom and Dad's new deck, watching the same fireworks show we watched throughout my youth, only from the other side of the lake. :)
Me? Well, I packed some more boxes, had a beer while Sal and I ate dinner, then we took some stuff to storage. Came back, watched True Blood from last week and forgot all about the fireworks in town until the dogs started barking wildly. Skittles, Sam's dog, is horribly afraid of thunder, and has trouble differentiating between cannons and thunder. :P I can't blame her. It DID sound like that. :) So after True Blood, I took a nice cold beer and went to sit out on our front porch.
Turns out I had a wonderful seat. :) From my front porch, which faces due west, I was able to see three different spectacular fireworks shows. I couldn't see Lincolnton's, but I could hear it and even feel it for the larger explosions. But off in the distance, I could see several different displays being put on. All of them ended at about the same time, which was neat. I could hear Lincolnton's and occasionally I could see the flashes over the trees to the south. Off to the west, I could see what I assume to be Shelby's display. And a smaller one slightly northwest of that. Someone was firing cannons, and I know that there's a Civil War re-enactment group around here that fires muskets on special occasions like the 4th and New Year.
Today might have been spent packing, loading, unloading, stacking, and otherwise getting stuff done for our impending move, but I was still able to enjoy that part of the 4th that means the most to me... the celebration of our nation's birth. Even though I spent the whole day a bit petulant because I really wanted to be with my family at the pool party, I found that all I really needed was to sit on my own front porch and sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' softly, to myself, as fireworks went off all around me.
Happy birthday, America.