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Pastimes : Where the GIT's are going -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Honor First who wrote (215950)	7/4/2012 10:07:08 AM
From: Justin C	2 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 225578

Back in 2000, SI's Rambi reminisced about celebrating the 4th with her family .... WHen the boys were little, we would go to Indian Lake in Ohio, where Dan's parents have a summer place, for the 4TH. As it began to get dark we would take drinks and snacks, blankets, and lots of that Avon Skin So Soft that keeps bugs away, and get on their pontoon boat. All the other boats were pulling out of their docks and we left the cove,like a parade heading toward the other end of the lake, until there was just this giant mass of boats and people waving and yelling and honking at each other. We would drop anchor and sit and watch the sun finish setting, and twilight come on. The boats were so thick you could almost step from one to the other. Just as the boys would start whining and the chips ran out, one rocket would shoot straight up - it was time! The horns blared, bells rang, people cheered. And for half an hour, over us, reflecting on the water, and on my children's mesmerized faces, July 4TH magic happened. When there was a particularly beautiful explosion, you blew your horns and cheered. CW loved to do this and we were always afraid he'd run the batteries down. Finally after the finale which never fails to leave me in tears, heart pounding, there is silence, and then slowly, everyone turns their boats for home. Through the now dark waters, through the silence broken only by the occasional rocket from the shore, we floated, the boys curled up on either side of me, and I knew this absolutely perfect happiness. Message 13743138

To: Honor First who wrote (215950)	7/5/2012 1:44:51 PM
From: ManyMoose	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 225578

Liberty and Freedom are alive and well here, never mind places where people want to regulate freedom and dole out free stuff paid for by others. Last night just before the fireworks, the loudspeaker asked everyone to stand for the Star Spangled Banner, and everyone did! The live voice was quite wonderful, and if I could find that lady I would tell her so. Then we were treated to a lovely display of fireworks, accompanied by recorded music featuring the Hymns of all of our armed services. In honor of my beloved Marines, I stood during the Marines' Hymn. My Dad said on the last weekend of his life "Stand up everybody! That is the National Anthem!" People were orderly, well-behaved, and appreciative of the community event. I was so proud of my community that tears came to my eyes as I sat there in the Neighborhood Patrol Car illuminating the exit gate with the headlights. My day started at eight am, after a short detour to deliver a squirrel I live trapped in my back yard to some woods where he wouldn't eat up my bird feeders and kill the birds. (I caught another in the evening and delivered him to a different location before going back to the grounds where fireworks for our Independence Day celebration was held.) Tuesday I had washed our Neighborhood Patrol Car so it would look nice at the car show. And considering that it has 178,000 miles on the odometer, it did look pretty darn nice. A friend reserved a spot for me right next to his, and he had one of the best locations in the whole car show. There were hundreds of beautiful cars and pickups, most of them lovingly restored by their owners. Many of them had paint jobs that were almost surreal. Hundreds of people walked by and saw our Patrol Car. They are starting to know about us and most are very appreciative. Yesterday's weekly paper had a very fine article about the Neighborhood Patrol. All we need now is more volunteers. About noon, I moved the Patrol Car over to the little mini-carnival where people had set up awnings or shelters to keep the sun off the wares that they were selling. That way even more people could see it. Local people had set up booths where they offered handmade or special items at reasonable cost. My wife bought several things. The National Guard had a big but unobtrusive presence at the carnival. They supplied the tent awing I sat there with the car until about six o'clock in the evening, when I went home to take a short nap so I could enjoy the fireworks. While I was gone, the Sheriff who had offered our group the patrol car came by and seemed to be pleased that we had it there. At nine pm we returned to the grounds for the fireworks display, and sat there with the Patrol Car until the fireworks were over. That's when I turned the car around to illuminate the exit gate. When most of the people at the fireworks display had departed, we went on a short Patrol in the neighborhoods where people were firing off their own fireworks. All the people we saw, and there were many even though it was after ten pm, were enjoying themselves in their own driveways. We drove by slowly so they could see us, but we had no reason to stop or report bad behavior. Fireworks were still going off when we returned home. I thought to myself: "Freedom and Liberty are alive and well." Thank God for that.