Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everybody.

This is definitely one of my favorite holidays of the year. It’s a time when the burgers are cooking, the weather is nice and everyone is happy for the most part.

I remember my early 4th of July celebrations back in New York. My mother and I would head out to a family member’s home and have an excellent barbeque meal. Burgers, hot dogs, fries, salads, punch and of course, pie. The older family members would have their liquor and just talk smack all day. The younger family members like me would just play a sport or just talk about the latest happenings in our schools. Music would be playing loudly and everyone would just have a good time.

We would talk about sports, especially how the Mets were ruining their season. That’s always a central theme of the discussions. The Mets always find a way to screw up their season around this time of year and my uncles and I would discuss this greatly.

Finally, I would head home, finish off some leftover food and head outside and watch the Macy’s fireworks show. I lived near the Williamsburg Bridge which went over the East River, the center of the show. People would line up for hours in Manhattan to get a prime view of the show while I would just stand outside my apartment in Brooklyn right before the event and get a grand view.

The only sad part about this memory now is that the fireworks would be set against a background which consisted of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center. Obviously since 2001, this view is non-existent. But that doesn’t damper my positive memories of the NYC this time of year.

The holiday also brought out the freaks in NYC. I would hear shouting and fireworks going off until 3 a.m. every year. A gun shot or two was also not uncommon. Crime also went up. This is New York I’m talking about, would you expect anything less? Ah, illegal guns. The memories.

When I started spending more time in Georgia during this holiday, it was about heading to Stone Mountain for the laser show! Loved the lasers!

The holiday is really about celebrating our independence as a nation. I know that we have major issues in this country, too numerous to list. However, for one day, we can look back at the history of this great nation and realize how fortunate each of us is.

BTW, props to my international readers as well. I’ll celebrate your independence days as well.

Anyway, enjoy the festivities tomorrow. Be safe and stay off them streets!

I’ll probably be home just relaxing since I’m not going to head to Atlanta or NYC this year.

Of course I have to go with God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood. Is there any doubt?