Independence

Front yard fireworks

       Summer finally began here on the fourth of July.  It has been so cool and rainy that we joke that autumn will begin on July fifth.  But for Independence Day, the weather was clear and temperatures climbed into the high seventies. Our short barbecue season began.
     At Karin and Leslie's first party of the season, we  pored over the Danish version of People magazine  to see photos of Karin's sister marrying a Danish count.   There were our friends, dressed up and beaming on the lawn of a big old house, surrounded by royalty.  The middle-aged bride and groom looked happy and hopeful. Karin's mother was not able to make the trip to Copenhagen for the wedding.  At the barbecue she was hugging the album of photos  taken by her old neighbor Bernie, who did fly to Denmark to witness the happy event.
    We then drove to Lois and Chuck's for a picnic and hootenanny.  We sat in the shade of a huge tree, surrounded by hydrangeas in bloom, and made music.  There were four guitars, a banjo, a harmonica, Judy on her autoharp and Lois on her accordion, and lots of voices.  We had a little slowness between songs as we tried to come together on chords, until a little girl in Oshkosh overalls joined us. She knew the words to "This Land is Your Land", and asked for "the rainbow song."  So we all sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow,"and then Chuck did "Rainbow Connection" in the voice of Kermit the frog.  We taught the little girl "Zip-A-Dee-Doo -Dah" and "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?" She could sing along by the last chorus of each song.  All too soon evening came, and we headed back home for the best part of the day.

Robert reads Declaration of Independence

Kelli and her grandmother light sparklers

     As we got closer to Milwaukie, the patches of smoke from neighborhood fireworks got thicker and more frequent.  Our driveway was packed with neighbors' cars, and the Janet and Robert were setting up their yard and driveway for  pyrothecnics.  As the sun went down, Robert read the Declaration of Independence.  We huddled with sweatshirts and blankets to listen to Sousa marches while Robert and his co-conspirators lit off fireworks.  "Only legal fireworks,"  Janet insisted, and held the line against her brother-in-law's pleading to set off just a few that flew.   We all missed Bart, our neighbor who has Down syndrome, and who usually joins us for the show.  Bart was sick this year.  Robert turned the ladder that held the  explosives so that Bart could see the grand finale out his window.  As we gathered up our lawn chairs and crossed the lawn to home, Bart's mother flicked her porch lights in thanks.
     The rockets' red glare went on for hours all around us. Huge umbrellas of colored light exploded high in the sky.   Aerial fireworks were set off from the block behind us,  from just beyond the greenway to our south,  from the schoolyard six blocks to our north and all along the river to our west. Totally illegal and great fun.