I have a picture of myself, somewhere in an album up in the attic I suppose, where I’m 13 years old wearing red, white, and blue and proudly displaying a flag cake that I made for the occasion. It was the 200th birthday of our nation and everyone was excited about this special day. To commemorate the year, the mint issued special bi-centennial quarters which I still see occasionally even though it is 35 years later. Rarer are the two-dollar bills depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I think there are still a lot around, but they were never very popular as currency so they haven’t circulated much.
My dad gave me a brand new two-dollar bill straight from the bank. He had written on it, To Laura July 4, 1976. At the time, I thought that was devaluing the bill…it wasn’t fresh from the bank if it had writing on it, and isn’t it illegal to write on money? So silly of me. I still have that bill, of course. It is a wonderful memento of that day and of my dad. I think it’s illegal to make a copy of money too, so now we’re even. I must’ve gotten a bit of the rebel from my dad!
I remember simple, free fireworks as a kid; placing an itchy wool blanket over the dry, sharp blades of grass by the football field, swatting mosquitoes away, peering at the firemen in their gear as they quarantined the explosives and ensured our safety, yawning at the late hour…then, the amazing fireworks! Bloom after bloom of colorful lights and those blinding, deafening blares of light and sound booming between the cascading shows of lights.
I still love fireworks, but I hate crowds. Once when our younger daughter was just 14 months old, we went to see fireworks and hear a symphony of Sousa’s marches. The music was great, although baby was restless…and then the fireworks started with a bang and baby started screaming in terror! We left. A few years later we tried again. They let everyone in at the same time and you had to hurry to find a good place and stake your claim. I was shocked at the white-haired old ladies, wielding their lawn chairs, shoving past families like ours with little children, heedless of any injuries they might leave in their wake. The music was wonderful as usual, but halfway through the concert, a huge storm system swept through and the whole place was evacuated. It was an expensive evening with no fireworks and the realization that people don’t necessarily get nicer just because they get older.
Now we rarely go to the fireworks on the Fourth. Our city stopped showing them in the city years ago and started showing them in a camp 45 miles away. But we get something better…the merchants in our town hold a festival every summer and light fireworks two nights in a row…and we have virtually front row seats right in our own front yard. Now that is perfect! I get double the fireworks and no crowds, just not on the Fourth.
What I like about the Fourth is singing America The Beautiful, all four verses, in church the Sunday before. I like thinking about what a wonderful country I live in where there is freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to pursue happiness. I think back to growing up and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, right hand over heart:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
And I never forget that our great nation was created as a republic…a place where we have inalienable rights that cannot be voted away as they could be in a democracy. As the Declaration of Independence so clearly states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
And as I think about my 50 by 50, I am aware as never before that this is the only nation on earth where the pursuit of happiness is considered an inalienable right. God Bless America!
Find the Joy in the Journey and pursue happiness!
Laura's Adventures After 50! 