Independence Day

" O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea..."

Just a tad corny, huh? So what!?! Next to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. Mmmmmm. Smell the barbecue in the air?

My childhood memories are quite extensive of Independence Days past. Each year, my family would have some kinda family gathering, usually at my Gram-gram's. If we were really lucky, Uncle Aaron would be home and we'd celebrate at his house.

Uncle Aaron had a huge in-ground pool back then and the kids would swim like guppies, which was good for the adults. At the end of the night us kids were worn the hell out! We'd entertain ourselves on hours playin' stupid pool games like Marco Polo and water freeze tag.

Other childhood games bring back fond memories... lawn darts, badminton, toss-a-cross, dodge ball... all those crazy games you played in the 70s. We'd swim, play, and run ourselves ragged. Then, of course, there was the food. Barbecue was out the wazoo! Chicken, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, steaks...you name it. Everyone would stuff themselves until content.

Evenings were capped off with watching fireworks. Some years we'd go to Penn's Landing but we at least had the child-friendly fireworks like sparklers, bottle rockets, light smoke bombs, firecrackers, those snake thingies that expanded out like a tail when lit... Memories.

I'm not sure what plans ensue this year. Several invitations on the table. One see fireworks at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. Or Devon having his fag-bash at his house in Reston (VA). Perhaps I could convince him to go down the Mall with that option? Been years since I've seen any the touristy stuff in DC. Maybe, if I can secure a ride, I'll go there. Who knows?

If nothing else comes to fruition I could always invites a few companions over and grill on my deck then head towards Riverfront Park for fireworks? Or maybe I'll drag my ass to the bars since it is a Friday night. Doubt that'll happen, but it's an option.

However my holiday turns out, it's sure to be something memorable.

Happy Fourth!