July Fourth: Ft. Lauderdale 2002

When I think of the Fourth I mainly think of Vancouver, Washington in the early to mid Sixties: Going with my older brothers up the street and around to where the little fireworks stand was, Washington an early state banning anything extreme, and getting all those snakes, poppers, Smokey Joes Cabin, sparklers, roman candles and firey cones, Piccolo Petes==loud whistling little black things that we learned if you pinched its base with pliers it would explode at the end--and those soldiers with parachutes that shot up in the air. Simple things but great enjoyment. I don't recall much of July Fourth in South Dakota. I know we celebrated, I knew of sparklers and snakes and cones but I cannot recall a specific thing about the Fourth from Sioux Falls. The same goes for Tennessee: don't really remember. Iowa, sure. I recall July Fourths in Urbandale clearly, both with family (climbing up on the roof of the house to see the suburb city fireworks) and with my pals of high school (going to Lions Park with blankets, meeting up with girls). Of course there was that Fourth in Iowa City where we all got drunker than drunk and drove around in Matt's Uncle's big work truck dumping trash around the city . . . And Fourths in other places, from Santa Fe to Missoula to Grayton Beach.

But I'm thinking of a Fourth in Fort Lauderdale, me and my wife and my kids in the only house I've ever owned. Neighbors were there with us--Billy, Michele and Silvio and Alana, maybe Abdul, maybe Marge, Cheryl and Denny were there, maybe Andy and Lisa and Dakota. I had gone to Neptune Fireworks and bought a bunch of stuff. In Florida the big bad fireworks are illegal, yet, just down US 1 in Dania Beach, there's a year-round fireworks store that sells all the illegals. Some loophole or another. That's Florida. So I had that good stuff and we had a party and everyone was happy and pleasant and excited to see the things I shot off outr in the street.

I don't really know if it was 2002. I don't know who all was there or that it was only one specific Fourth (I bought stuff from Neptune many Fourths in a row) and had a number of parties on that day. I do know it was before my wife became ill and my daughter also and we were all laughing and together and more or less happy.