The 4th Is My 1st

Independence Day - aka the 4th of July, is my first best holiday. It took me fifty years to realize it. Now I'm at peace with the realization - along with the fact that Summer is my fave season. Oh, I tried to pretend it was Fall. Maybe it was when I was younger. Now that I'm old and always chilly, Summer suits me. Deck time, flowers, green grass, and trees, I love it all.

My love affair with the 4th of July has been building for a long time. I believe it's because it's more low-key than holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter that require food, gifts, and housekeeping. Independence Day, even when people visit, seems less frantic when it comes to prep. And decks and garages are in play for entertaining.

In my early years, when dusk hit on the 4th we took comfy blankets and sparklers to the Atlantic Golf and Country Club. There we'd park along the road and traipse to somewhere on number 8 or 9 fairway so we could gaze down to number 1 and 8 greens. (If course layout serves me). There we'd lay out our big wool Hawkeye blankie near all the other families. The excitement would build as the fireworks crew periodically shot off sonic booms to prep the crowd. When darkness fell, the show and Ooohs and Ahhhs began. In the distance, we could see the City of Atlantic fireworks shooting near the airport. A great piece of Americana happening across our great country.

The year I graduated from high school, three friends and I decided to get away for the 4th. Somewhat of a good girl, I was ready to be "bad". The drinking age was 18 so liquor was in the works for sure. Cherry vodka anyone? I had decided it was time for me to try pot - good old Iowa ditch weed that I secured from a classmate. Robyn, Chris, Trish, and I drove Trish's VW bug up to Lake Okoboji and checked into our very own hotel room. So grown up!

One note - when I was younger, my allergist had noted that I was allergic to hemp. I didn't put those two things together. I lit the joint up as soon as we checked into the motel but don't remember feeling high at all. Imagine my surprise when I began to get a rash and fever instead of a buzz. Uh oh! I ended up visiting the Emergency Room in Spirit Lake. The doc asked if I had eaten shellfish or anything new. Nope! I was not admitting that. I got major Benedryl and went off to enjoy the rest of the weekend pot-free. Lesson learned.

The rest of the weekend we enjoyed Okoboji, visiting the iconic amusement park, Arnolds Park, and partied at the Roof Garden. There we ran into - guess who? The Atlantic cool boys who were up visiting our classmate Jack Bunce whose family had a place on the lake. It was a fun trip - except for the rash/doctor part. I made the mistake of telling my older sisters about my pot snafu a year later. Of course, they outed my plunge into drug use to our parents. They just laughed.

I've blogged about the many (around 15?) years we spent Independence Day at Ridgeland, WI, thanks to the hospitality of the Huston family. Mike Huston, our wedding best man, invited us to his family's "home place" after we graduated from college. His parents Clark and Joyce must have actually enjoyed being invaded by a group of young people. And later young parents and families.

Beloved outhouse - Kelli and Amy Ridgeland

We never quit going until our children got old enough for us to need to stay home for local activities. Early on, the Huston place was rustic with the two-seater outhouse and no running water. At first we slept in a huge tent. Later we had family tents and campers. The highlight was tubing the nearby Apple River whilst guzzling beer. My dad provided fireworks for the event as he'd stop at a stand in Missouri when driving back to Iowa from the Florida winter. Our own little display.

Gang at Ridgeland - thanks Clark and Joyce! 

Lucky for us, when we stopped going to Ridgeland was right around when we moved to our second Creston home which was right in the heart of the best 4th of July activities. We had a great view of the fireworks and could walk around the lake to McKinley Park that hosted a carnival and talent show. Each year we invited people over to sit in our driveway for fellowship and fireworks. Later, when our neighbor's trees grew large, we sat in their driveway. It was great! The only downside was our pets did not like it. One year we finally found Moki under Amy's bed downstairs.

2016 Yankee Doodle Pops with roomie Joan

Since moving to Des Moines we've enjoyed new traditions. Last year Paul was recovering from prostate cancer surgery so we took it easy. This year I'm happy to report his recovery has been as good as we could have ever hoped. Periodic checks have shown no detectable cancer. Thanks to Dr. Gellhause at the U of I and staff.

2017 July 3rd downtown bike ride with my honey

This year many traditional activities are canceled as we try to stamp out COVID 19. Once again we're laying low for good reason. I bet we'll see some fireworks from our deck.

I look forward to many more years of celebrating our great country.