Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers! I had one of my better ones in recent memory. I began a cloudy and humid morning with the second half of Yankee Doodle Dandy and a few cartoon shorts centered around the 4th of July, summer events, or American history. Donald Duck tries to set up a picnic with a perfect view of the fireworks in "Donald's Failed Fourth," but has a rough time getting the chairs and blankets to behave. Bugs Bunny fights (Yosemite) Sam the Hessian Soldier for freedom and the right to shoot cannon balls back and forth in "Bunker Hill Bunny." The Pink Panther finds himself delivering messages to the people of Philadelphia about the Declaration of Independence on the back of a Redcoat horse in "Pinky Doodle." Tom and Jerry make use of a fireworks stockpile to hold a war of their own in "The Yankee Doodle Mouse."
I headed down to West Clinton Avenue around quarter after 10. I knew darn well Oaklyn's 4th of July parade was going to be late. It's always late. I finally found Rose, Craig, Jodie, and Khai sitting on the corner across from Manor, waiting for the parade to finally begin. Khai was so excited! His mother actually had to chase him and retrieve him from climbing into someone else's wagon. Jodie sat him down in a big camp chair to play games on Craig's smartphone instead.
The parade finally began at quarter of 11. Oaklyn's parade isn't huge or fancy, but it's a big community event and a lot of fun to watch. There were two string bands. There were tons and tons of local softball and baseball little league teams. One softball team had a cute luau theme. A baseball team that's sponsored by a concrete laying company showed off their sterling statistics on foam board "slabs of concrete." The Oaklyn Library pushed a cart that had a beach theme. The fire trucks were at the end. They were so noisy, Khai covered his ears! And yes, my little nephew got plenty of candy, from each and every one of those softball and baseball teams and fire trucks.
Rose and Craig wanted to take Khai home for a nap, and Jodie needed to help Dad with the party preparations. I was the only one who opted to follow the crowd to the Oaklyn School on the end of West Clinton Avenue for a free hot dog and Diet Pepsi. I wish I hadn't. I had to work at noon, and the mayor talked sooooo slooooow. Standing in a day that had become sunny, muggy, and hot didn't help.
I hurried off as soon as I finished my hot dog. When I got home, I had just enough time for snap peas and tomatoes and to change into my uniform before I hurried off to work. (Good thing I already packed my snack before I left for the parade.)
The Acme was a total madhouse for most of the afternoon. Not only is today a major summer holiday, it's also the last day of our sales, and we're still in the beginning of the month. We were so busy, we sold out of every kind of milk but the expensive organic gallons. We had a lot of problems with grouchy, grumpy, or cranky people, too. No one was happy about the missing milk, or that you can't mix and match the three big soda 12-packs sale. (Take that up with the soda companies who don't play nice together.) I was so grateful it slowed down enough by 4PM for me to hurry out quickly without a relief.
(I did manage to pick up some hours tomorrow, 2 to 7. No big deal. Grocery shopping was my only major plan for tomorrow, and I can still do that in the morning.)
When I got home, I quickly changed into my bathing suit, grabbed the Cookies n' Cream Pudding Pie I made yesterday, and hurried over to Dad's. This year, Dad was having the big 4th of July Celebration. Rose, Craig, and Khai were there briefly, but they had to move on around 5:30 to go to Craig's brother's house for his party.
I spent most of the evening splashing in the pool with two of the neighbors' little girls, 8-year-old Mary and 5-year-old Emily. They were lots of fun in the pool, swimming on the mermaid-themed paddle board and squirting people with foam water guns. Sometimes, other adults like their parents, Jodie, Dad, and Vanessa would join in, too. We all had a great time. As Mary put it, "This is living!"
There was tons and tons of food. Jodie, Dad, and a couple of neighbors barbecued burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and ribs. I didn't get there in time for the ribs, but I did have a cheeseburger, a hot dog, and a chicken thigh. I also tried seafood salad, a tasty macaroni salad with tomatoes and zucchini, an unusual corn-bean salad with chunks of what I believe was avocado, and lots and lots of watermelon Vanessa sliced herself.
I left around 7:30 to go home and get ready for the fireworks. Sneaked in a few more cartoons as I changed into dry clothes and packed a bag with water, a towel, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, a flashlight, and a CD player and CDs. (It's been so long since I used the iPod, it still has Christmas music on it!)
All Wally Walrus wants is a relaxing day at the beach...which will be anything but with Woody Woodpecker driving him crazy in "The Beach Nut." A review of "Hysterical Highspots In American History" takes in comic (and sometimes a tad scatological) versions of everything from Columbus discovering America to Depression-era breadlines. Ruby and Louise want to see the fireworks, but Max prefers nature's own glow in "Max's Fireflies."
Headed out to Newton River Park at 8:30. It was already busy with families who wanted cheaper seats with more leg room than Collingswood High School's stadium provided. It was hard to find a spot. Not because it was crowded, but because the ground was so soggy, a lot of prime viewing areas were muddy marshes. I finally found a drier place near the sidewalk that goes around the park to spread out my peach-and-cream-striped towel. I listened to the Monkees and Bruce Springsteen and watches the crowds until the fireworks began.
The fireworks were gorgeous, as always. My favorite was the big golden one that exploded in the shape of a bushy star and the huge green oval. I love the shaped ones - I wonder how they do those. An enormous purple and gold one with sparkles in the middle was pretty, too.
I had a harder time getting home. I left about half-way through the finale...but even then, the traffic was terrible, especially by the park. Giving people more places to park, including an empty lot that used to be a fast food restaurant, just made more of a mess. I dodged cars trying to back out all the way down the Black Horse Pike. It wasn't even better in Oaklyn. People just detoured down Newton Avenue.
When I finally made it back to Manor, I cherished the silence. Despite the amateur fireworks still going off all around me, it felt peaceful. Everyone else was either heading for the Shore or stuck in traffic or still partying. All I could hear were the hum of animals and air conditioners. The soft breeze rustled the flags placed in the front of every lawn by a local real estate firm. It was so calm, so quiet. Walking home from the fireworks is really my favorite part of the 4th of July.
Here's hoping you had an equally enjoyable 4th (and that our neighbors to the north enjoyed their Canada Day on Monday, too).
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