Started off the morning with stories about 4th of July celebrations and America's independence from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology book. The longer pieces here are a chapter from Little Town on the Prairie about Pa Ingalls taking Laura and Carrie to the new town's small Independence Day party and the full Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. We also get several shorter patriotic poems. The last chapter of the coffee-table history book Summer In America covers 4th of July and Juneteenth through the years.
Headed out after eating a very quick breakfast. Oaklyn's 4th of July Parade was at 10 AM...or it was supposed to be. I left at 9:45 and arrived at West Clinton about 8 minutes later to see families still lining up on the sidewalks in their nylon deck chairs and wagons and strollers. The Oaklyn Civic Association gave away free pretzels and small bottles of water in a tent at the municipal parking lot. I picked up a pretzel and a bottle of water and hiked up and down the street for a while.
Ran into Rose and her family about ten minutes later. I was able to give Finley her birthday presents. Her birthday was yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to give it to bring it over then. As much as she liked the stuffed dog in a hog dog roll, she really loved gray-striped Kiki the Cat in her sparkly pink bow. She and her dad Craig played with her for the next ten minutes.
The kids were starting to get a little antsy just as a Mr. Softee truck rolled into the parking lot. Turns out they were giving out free ice cream and water ice in honor of the Fourth. Finley, Rose, and me hurried across the street and into a long line. I liked the look of the chocolate soft-serve with chocolate sprinkles the mom in front of me got so much, I ended up with a cup of that.
The parade began while I was in line. Oaklyn's 4th of July Parade mainly consists of one brass band, a few local Armed Services troops, kids on decorated bikes, a motorcycle team on huge Harleys, and a lot of softball teams and civic services on flatbed trucks. One of the softball teams had by far the best theme. They were on a "Flaming Hot" orange-decorated truck and threw Flaming Hot Cheetos to the kids in the crowd. They ended up winning the float contest. Oaklyn's food pantry came in second, followed by the motorcyclists. A young man in a Philadelphia Eagles shirt did a not bad rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" after the parade ended.
Though it was sunny and breezy at that point, it was also hot and murderously humid. I wanted to get something cold to drink at the Common Grounds Coffee House. It was packed before the parade, but it wasn't as bad later. I got in just ahead of the crowd. By the time I was waiting for my Frozen Hot Chocolate, there was a line going out the door.
Walked straight home after that. Spent the next hour and half eating lunch and watching the early talkie musical Sunny Side Up, which begins at a 4th of July block party in New York. Had just enough time to change, grab a snack, and head out.
Work was a mess when I got in. We had plenty of help, and there were still long lines. In addition to the holiday and it being the beginning of the month, Tuesday is our Senior Citizen Discount Day. Once dark clouds moved in, it cleared out in a hurry. A noisy thunder storm, complete with torrential rain and loud thunder, arrived around 5:30-6 PM. It died so quickly, I spent the last half-hour putting away cold items and had maybe three customers in the hour before that.
I kept telling the managers that the storm wouldn't last until 9 PM, like the weather reports claimed. Storms that big never last long. Indeed, the sun was out as I rode home, even as the last of the rain continued to fall. I took the long way down Nicholson Road to dodge flooded areas on the Black Horse Pike, the rode down to the White Horse Pike to get around flooding in Oaklyn. By that point, the rain and clouds had blown away, and it was back to being sunny and humid. I even saw a beautiful, clear rainbow arching over Oaklyn as I crossed the Pike and pointed out to a family walking down the street.
Had dinner while finishing Sunny Side Up. I go further into this charming early talkie romantic comedy at my Musical Dreams Musical Reviews blog.
A friend told me the fireworks were still on, so I went out around 8:30 to find somewhere dry to sit in the park. Stopped at Dollar General on the way for a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. Strolled down to the park, which was busy...but no one seemed to know if the fireworks were on or not. People sat on lawn chairs and oversaw barbecues, and I could even hear amateur fireworks being set off in the distance.
Collingswood's fireworks were supposed to be set off at the high school. There were plenty of cars there, but no one on the grandstand or in the fields. I finally looked it up on the Collingswood Facebook page. Yes, it was postponed until tomorrow. Thanks for telling everyone an hour before it was supposed to happen. They should have canceled it when the deluge started, instead of waiting for the last second. There were people and cars all over the place, waiting for a show that wasn't going on. At least I did get to see some rather nice red and gold fireworks set off by families in the neighborhood on the way back.
I wasn't happy at all when I got home. Tried to cheer myself up with a few more holiday-related cartoons. The "me" in Ben & Me is Amos Mouse, who befriends Benjamin Franklin and helps him with his newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette. He's fed up after Ben uses him for his infamous kite-flying electrical experiment, but it's their make-up agreement that eventually becomes the Declaration of Independence.
Amos isn't the only mouse who claims to have significantly shaped American history. In Yankee Doodle Cricket, Tucker the Mouse insists his ancestor helped Paul Revere with his midnight ride and created the first American flag. Harry the cat supposedly gave Tucker's agreement for all animals to live in harmony to Thomas Jefferson to re-write into the Declaration of Independence, while Chester Cricket wrote "Yankee Doodle" and recruited his animal friends to spread it to the humans.
Daisy Duck asks Donald to set up a picnic in front of the fireworks. "Donald's Failed Fourth" seems to be a disaster when the chairs and blanket won't cooperate, but Daisy appreciates his effort anyway. "Hysterical History" is Harvey Films' spoof of historical events, from the arrival of the Pilgrims to Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone. The short ends with a "follow the bouncing ball" sing along to "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
The 1988 version of Family Feud with Ray Combs as host debuted on July 4th. I loved this show as a kid. It was on during a very difficult time in my life. Ray and his wacky families never failed to make me laugh with their often-crazy answers to silly survey questions. The show even kicked off strong with a great game and a really nice Fast Money win.
And here's hoping you had a 4th of July that was equally fun...and much drier.
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