Small Town Fourth

I forgot how fun the Fourth of July can be in our small town.

I must admit that when I moved here I was pretty skeptical. Every year growing up in Charlotte, we went to watch the big city display downtown. When I lived in Columbia, SC, I was amazed at the display at Fort Jackson. You can count on some serious fireworks on a military base. That was awesome.

So, when I moved here, where there is no official display, I was pretty bummed. I marveled at the six firework tents that went up by mid-June--six tents for a town of less than 5,000. Crazy. Keep in mind that fireworks are illegal in Memphis and Shelby County, so all those folks have to come out here to buy. It's kinda like how we Mecklenburg County folks had to go to SC to get our supplies. Still, six tents?

After tonight, I remember the wonder I had last year, and I understand a bit more about how six tents can make it. I stood in our back yard and watched fireworks bought by folks all over my neighborhood and others close by. At first, I couldn't decide whether to watch from the front yard or the back. When I decided the back was the best, I couldn't decide which way to look. There were showers of color in several directions. Some were small, others were surprisingly big. It wasn't coordinated. It wasn't set to music. It was just plain folks all around me enjoying the holiday in their own yards. I got to be the beneficiary. It was great!

The prelude was great, too. Last night, we set off our stash. Now we didn't buy any of the really big ones, but we had more than just bottle rockets and firecrackers. And, we had the freedom to do so without worrying about the police coming to write us a citation. Jack and Molly ran around the yard, back and forth from the street up to the safety of the front porch. Ed is so cautious with things that I was able to be fairly relaxed about it. It was so very fun!

Happy Fourth of July!