Spirit of Independance Day's Past

From the age of seven to the age of twelve my 4th of July's were spent at the Elks Lodge to which my parents belonged. The lodge was located directly across the street from a county part and a fireworks stand where we always purchased our evening entertainment.

Through out the day all of us kids could be found in the park-playing hide and go seek, ditch, football and Frisbee. We climbed trees and avoided the older kids with firecrackers at all costs. They enjoyed nothing better than dropping a lit package behind some unsuspecting pre-teen.

When the afternoon began to wane we returned by twos and threes to the lodge parking lot where a huge BBQ feast was in the process of being prepared. There were always dogs, burgers, ribs and steaks with all the fixings.

Once everyone had filled their stomachs to their hearts content all the kids would gather in a rope off area that had been set up just for us. With a few adults as chaperones we would light off all of our sparklers, blazing flowers and fountains. Some of the littler ones would cry but for the most part one and all enjoyed the spectacle.

By the time we finished it was time for the main event. One of the local groups put on a huge fireworks show every year and the lodge parking lot was a perfect viewing location with no fuss and no muss. With folding chairs and blankets adults and children alike were dazzled by the fire filled sky.

Unfortunately my twelfth year was the last year that the firework display was put on. The sponsoring group paid for each years show from the proceeds collected from firework sales the previous year. The stand was robbed at closing in the final year and they chose to no longer put on the shows.

From my twelfth year to the current year my 4th of July memories have been a hodgepodge of various events with no real tradition to bind each year to the next.

Several 4ths were spent at the Long Beach Marina watching the firework display from the shore. The best part of the event was that all of the rockets were launched from a barge in the middle of the harbor so there was not a bad seat in the house. The downside was the crowds, the parking and the innumerable amount of drunks; at least back then the marina was definitely not a place for young children.

One year the fireworks I witnessed were from the back seat of a buddy's car as we returned from a visit to Sacramento. There is not much time for savoring the experience while doing eighty on Interstate 5.

Another year a group of us watched fireworks from a turn off along Highway 2 in the San Gabriel Mountains. Instead of one show we saw several dozen shows scattered about the valley below us.

Over a period of four or five years a group of us would park at or near the Rose Bowl to watch their yearly firework extravaganza. The area outside the bowl became a temporary community with everyone's children intermingling and families sharing fried chicken and beer. The last few years however the parking fee has become rather high reducing the ability for most families to afford it.

My worst 4th of July happened seven years ago. Upon returning home from the Rose Bowl I found a message on my machine informing me that my mother had suffered a major heart attack. She lives near Laughlin, Nevada and her habit of visiting the various casinos is the only thing that saved her life. She lives alone and if she had been home she would have surely died. While sitting at a slot machine she began to feel ill and began walking towards the door where she collapsed. The paramedics were able to stabilize her and from the local hospital she was airlifted to Phoenix where she had a stint inserted into one of her arteries.

Over the past few years the 4ths have begun to run together. Without a traditional event it almost seems like just another day. Maybe next year I will spend the 4th in Philadelphia, New York or Washington D.C. and see if I can jumpstart my enjoyment of Independence Day.