Independence Days Past and Present
I love July 4th. Mostly because I try to do something interesting on July 4th every year. Sometimes this works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but I do get a pretty good indication of how my life is going based on what I do on Independence Day each year. In fact, I have a list of my July 4th adventures written down going back to 1992, that’s how crazy I am about this holiday.
Some examples of previous July 4th events:
1997: I was living in Boston, and met up with some friends to camp out all day at the Hatch Shell to watch the Boston Pops play and see the fireworks. During the 12+ hour wait for the concert to start, my friend J and I trudged to the Back Bay in search of a bathroom. We found a bar, and as we walked toward the back to the bathrooms, we bumped into my brother-in-law who was visiting some of his Boston friends that weekend. I had no idea he was in town, he had no idea how to get hold of me once he got there (ah, the days before cellphones), so meeting up was a crazy, crazy coincidence.
2002: I’m all decked out in a full Elizabethan(ish) costume, playing “Bianca” in Taming of the Shrew for the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. It’s an outdoor production, so while we’re on a break during a dress rehearsal, the city fireworks start to go off. A bunch of us trek out onto the lawn of the historic grounds to watch the fireworks that make it over the trees. Two years later, Mr. M and I will be back at the festival for a production of “Twelfth Night.”
2000: Mr. Martini and I had just started dating a couple of months prior. We were still living in Ohio, and the city of Akron actually closes down a section of the highway for the fireworks (it’s the section that leads from the major freeways into downtown, so no big loss, ha ha). I had been the year before with my friend K, and had had a great view of the fireworks display, so I make sure that Mr. M and I sit in the same section. Mr. Martini wears his sunglasses through most of the fireworks display, and after I tease him about it (“You’re diminishing the experience by shading your eyes!”) he reluctantly removes them. He puts the glasses in his pocket, looks up toward the skies, and immediately slaps his hand on his face, yelling, “Oh, my eye!” “Ha, ha, very funny,” I say, because come on, the timing of that was just too perfect for it not to be a joke. “No, really, my eye!” he yells, at which point I notice that the wind has shifted and we’re being covered in ash and fireworks pellets. Poor guy. Luckily, I had some eye drops with me, and there was no permanent damage. But we still bring it up every year.
This year was a good year, considering it’s our first year in Louisville. The 4th was super rainy and dreary, but it finally stopped raining in time for us to attend a party at our friend B’s house. We really didn’t know anyone there, which made me a little nervous, but it was a really fun time: nice people, great food. The best part was that their neighbors throw a huge fireworks display in their cul-de-sac, so we got to watch a fairly decent homegrown fireworks display without having to pay for a single sparkler.
Another nice part of the weekend was this:
I got a great deal on a new camera, courtesy of eBay. I love, love, love it, and will have more details to share about this in an upcoming post. Oh, the pictures I will take! I can’t wait!
