Previously posted on July 04, 2006
Nature's fireworks, last night before what the babes have called "Boomfires!" since they could talk.
The third of July is our valley’s huge celebration day. A huge fireworks display and performances inside the stadium at USU is held each year. When Kelly was young and on a dance team, we went inside the stadium once. Only once. 25,000 people on those bleachers, the heat, the stifling air. We left after Kelly’s performance and went outside on the hill to watch in a more relaxed and comfortable spot! However, every year before and after that for twenty-six years, Doug and I have could be found on the hill outside the stadium loving it! LOVING IT! The hillside looks like a giant patchwork quilt by noon, with barely an empty space. Not only the hillside by the university, anyplace with a view of the University Hill is peppered with signs of what the evening will bring.
And through the years, friends and family, have grown to know where we stake our temporary claim on the hill. I prepare a feast and have literally fed up to 50 people while waiting in the July heat for the sun to set so that the show can begin! All who pass us by are welcome to stop in for a bite. We bring cards and games, a boombox to listen to the performances inside the stadium, laugh and catch-up with anyone who passes by and stops for a shredded BBQ beef sandwich, potato salad, brownies and watermelon. This night and the annual Corbridge Reunion have always been literally the highlight of our summer.
A few years ago, we had some complications early in the day and didn’t get to claim "our spot". We tried a new spot on the other side of the stadium. Change did not set well for any of us. Doug didn’t care for being downwind and under the fall-out of the fireworks. The babes were mortified because we were so close that it looked like "light speed" in Star Wars when the "boomfires" would explode. I missed being on the entrance side of the stadium where we could see 25,000 people as they walked into the stadium. It was just not the same.
Doug’s brother built a new home just below the stadium and for a few years, had been inviting us to join the family. Not wanting to give up our most social night of the summer, we passed on a family night with a perfect view of the fireworks. After our little "wrong side of the stadium" experience, we decided to take him up on his offer the next year. We now had the babes and it was a chance for them to be with their cousins and enjoy family. And so, for the past four years, we’ve gone to Danny and Alene’s and have a great family night of fun.
Last night, while Doug and I visited with his siblings and spouses, the babes jumped on the tramp, played on the gym set and ran around barefoot with cousins. My 18 year old niece brought two carloads of friends as the show began. Liza and Buddy came after work. Grandma was there enjoying her posterity. Close to forty of us were there on the lawn until after midnight. Not once did I worry about the babes. Not once did we see or hear anything inappropriate or offensive. It was the perfect night. As I was lying in bed this morning thinking about the night, I was reminded that traditions are wonderful things but sometimes we make adjustments and have to make change. I can’t imagine going back to the crowded hillside again. It wouldn’t be the same. Our new tradition should do us well for the next 25 years. I imagine that one day Liza and Buddy’s children will be running around Uncle Danny’s for the fireworks and I can’t wait!
Side note: My favorite moment of Independence Day was as we drove into the canyon for a picnic with friends this afternoon. Neal Diamond’s "America", from the movie "The Jazz Singer" came on the radio. For some reason, both Doug and I looked at each other and choked up in the memory of the very first time we heard that song in the movie. Having never heard the song until that moment in the movie, the orchestra, the beat of the drums and the lights went up for Neal to sing the most patriotic song of our day. I never hear that song that my heart does not swell! And the memory of the first time I heard it always brings tears to my eyes! Today!!
Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
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