(Photo Credit: Jennifer Tomaloff)
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
John Adams wrote those words to his wife, Abigail. He was referring to July 2nd, 1776, the date that the colonies legally separated from Great Britain. While he may have been wrong about the date–the celebrations took place on July 4th, the (debated) date that the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence–he was right about the pomp and the circumstance. July 4th is the day set aside to commemorate the start of the bold, brash experiment that was American Democracy. The celebrations began that very next year on July 4th, 1777 and the festivities did include fireworks.
More than 200 years have passed and it can be successfully argued that for many the fourth of July is not a date on which we spend much time reflecting on the courage and sacrifice of our revolutionary brethren. Don’t get me wrong, some do indeed honor the sacrifices of those who bought our freedoms as well as those who have died over the ensuing centuries to protect them. We all should remember that. Though our commitment to remembrance may sometimes waiver, we remain consistent in our innate desire to affirm the words of the man who would become the second President of these United States.
As John Adams predicted, on July 4th we like to blow sh*# up.
History is an engaging subject and other than the Second World War, the Revolutionary period of our country has been an interesting and inspiring subject for as far back as I can remember. However, in my perusal of those same memories I cannot recollect a time where July 4th engendered passionate reflections on the Founding Fathers or on the War of Independence.
What I remember is fireworks. (Photo Credit: Curtis Morton-Lowlighter)
For a boy living in the rural Midwest, the week or so leading up to the 4th of July was the high point of our summer. The hours moved slower in those days and summers lasted forever. When the tents went up in my hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska I knew that any trip into town might result in our returning home laden with smoke bombs, sparklers, and packages of Black Cat firecrackers. One whole week of parent-sanctioned access to fire and explosives. It was pre-adolescent nirvana.
The zenith of that week of smoldering punks and lit fuses were the battles birthed in my imagination and carried out upon the green plastic army men who spent their non-combat time in the climate controlled environs of my bedroom. While they waged many bloodless wars throughout the year, they only saw ‘real action’ in that one week (or sometimes a bit longer if I managed to exert a modicum of self-control and ration my firecracker stash). In my memories there was always a conveniently located pile of dirt upon which to reenact the Battle of Bunker Hill*. We were one of the first families to move into our subdivision, so there were indeed often piles of dirt resulting from the construction of houses in the neighborhood. However I am convinced that they magically appeared each year with the express purpose of providing a canvas upon which I could paint my destruction.
I was never one to light an entire pack of Black Cats for that brief spurt of machine-gun-like fire, not when each individual firecracker was a grenade, mortar or bazooka directed at the soldiers under my command. With god-like omnipotence I rained down fire upon my two armies battling for the supremacy of the dirt-pile kingdom. This was the one time of year that I conveniently forgot the anthropomorphization of my toys and gleefully placed them in harm’s way. I suspect they loved every explosive minute of it. The ozone smell of spent fireworks in the air was our aphrodisiac, inciting us to more and greater orgies of innocent violence.
Then I grew up.
I grew more interested in girls and the 4th of July held promises of late night cuddling on a blanket watching the city’s annual fireworks display. Then I went away to college and the 4th of July often found me flipping steaks or washing dishes to earn money for the next semester. College days brought true love, marriage and the occasional return to the city-sponsored “pomp and parade”. Only this time the ‘city’ was Tulsa, Oklahoma.
When my wife Mary and our daughter Tori and I moved to the Kansas City, Missouri area in 1998, the opportunity opened up for us to spend the 4th of July holiday with her cousins, selling fireworks and earning extra spending money. For a number of years the week leading up to Independence Day was filled with stocking and selling fireworks and nights spent sleeping in the tent to discourage would-be opportunists. I took scores of free fireworks home at the end of every season and year after year they sat idly by, unable to realize their destructive potential because of my grown-up sense of propriety and desire to obey the laws of our city.
We all got older and the summers seemed to grow hotter and in 2004 Mary’s cousins snuffed out the fuse and declared it to be their last 4th of July spent selling memories to other families instead of making their own. The timing was right. I would miss the additional money earned every summer, but I was ready to regain the magic of this lost holiday and to share it with my wife and daughter. I reacquainted myself with Independence Day in 2005 with what would turn out to be the best 4th of July celebration I have ever experienced.
My friend James and I visited the warehouse of the local fireworks distributor, who was a former teacher and principal of the school which both James and my wife attended, and he allowed us to purchase fireworks at cost. James was to return to the warehouse more than once after that first shopping trip and the 4th found us with a truckload of fireworks, plus my long-neglected stash, that literally took us four straight hours to blow up, and that was with multiple people setting them off. A steady breeze blew and rained down debris on our audience as we created art in the sky with multiple display shells rocketing up simultaneously. Although the air was punctuated by the snap, crackle and pop of the fireworks and the oohs and ahhs of family and friends, the music of John Phillip Sousa rang in my head throughout the night.
I was a kid again, only this time I was allowed to play with bigger toys.
In the years since 2005 we have partaken of more humble yet satisfying expressions of our duty to the words of John Adams. At some point you come to the realization that many bills can be paid, or dreams pursued, with the money that literally goes up in smoke when spent for the purpose of celebrating the beginning of this Great American Experiment.
This July 4th, 2011 will find me spending my afternoon playing games and eating summer food with family. My wife and I plan to return home in the early evening, forgoing the summer heat and humidity to celebrate the last day of a long weekend in the comfort of our air-conditioned home. I will be making a conscious effort to ponder the great sacrifices and the adventurous spirit of those men and women who stepped out and set things in motion for the founding of this great nation. I will be reminiscing on the many wonderful 4th of July moments I have experienced in 42 years of living on this earth. And I will be gently resisting any last minute urges to fork over my hard-earned cash just so that I can blow sh*# up.
But I am putting myself on notice right now: I may just end up enlisting a battalion of green plastic army men over the course of the next year and July 4th, 2012 could see me scouting locations for a pile of dirt upon which to engage in a war of nostalgia.
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*Yes, I realize it is an anachronism to have green plastic army men acting out a revolutionary war battle. But it worked with the theme, so just give me this one, okay?
Happy 4th of July to you and yours.
Boy did we ever go all out that evening.
Thanks for bringing that awesome memory back to the forefront of my mind.
That day will go down as one of the greatest Independence celebrations of my life.
Hopefully we can return to such glory again some day!
Here’s to those brave souls who dared to believe in a dream bigger than themselves. We live in the greatest country in the world because of their sacrifice and hard work matched by no other people group before or since.
Yes, we brought it that night and rivaled the professional shows. In fact I’ve seen some wonderful professional shows but none were near as fun as doing an hours long one ourselves.
One day we’ll be able to justify the expense and do it again.
And yes, here!here! It makes me sad to think that on many days we as a nation are not worthy of the sacrifices that have been made establishing and keeping us.
What a wonderful post Carl. Sounds like you’ve had some amazing forths! Blowing sh*# up seems to be a right of passage for many young males, and some females…*rolls eyes to the side and whistles innocently*…lol I hope you decide to get your army men next year…provided you supply us with pics and commentary 😀
Kelly: Great idea! In addition to the role of supreme overlord I could play war correspondent, snapping pics of the action. Bold and brave in the face of danger. I like it!
Ha!! OMG so much fun…I can hardly wait a year 😀 Not that i would be partaking vicariously through your explosive endeavours or anything…lol
I’d almost be afraid at what I might do to the army men now. I imagine I was a bit more kind as a young man. And the firecrackers I can get as an adult are much more powerful! *wicked grin*
Hi Carl. Last night I was listening to people causing chaos with their fireworks and I couldn’t remember the last time I bought my own. When I was a kid, we used to go all out in my neighborhood and I’m sure we drove most people crazy. And last night I was annoyed by all the noise. Payback I’m assuming. Have a wonderful holiday. I’m going to try to pinpoint when I actually got old and want the kids to pipe down so I can get my sleep.
TBM: The neighborhood was filled with both aerial and ground assaults into the wee hours of the morning, and I suspect it will be worse tonight. I pretty much can sleep through that stuff though, as long as my dog doesn’t wake me up in a panic. May have to dope him up tonight to keep him from trembling in fear.
I wish I could sleep through it. I live right next to a college and all holidays and major sporting events are quite loud and festive here. Thank goodness I have today off. Hopefully your pooch will have a peaceful night.
Yeah. I wouldn’t want to live close to a college for any reason. Enjoy your day off and best wishes for a restful night’s sleep.
That is a fantastic quote from John Adams. Have you read John Adams by David McCullough? I read only a quarter of the book, but enough to gain a sense of the greatness that John Adam’s possessed.
Robert and I use to buy the simpler type firecracker stuff – we call them the ground fireworks 🙂 No longer though, waste of money, and besides, they are far too dangerous to have around Isaiah. Last night, while listening to others set of their fireworks, Robert commented, “up in smoke their money goes”. Around here, we will hear/see fireworks for at least a week; at least. I don’t mind though, sort of adds to the seasonal feeling.
I hope you and yours have an amazing fourth – much fun!
Ibeeeg: I have not, but I’ve heard good things. I need to watch that miniseries they made awhile back with Paul Giamatti. He is one of my favorites, can’t believe I haven’t already done so.
I hope you and your family has a wonderful fourth. Hopefully there will be neighborhood or city fireworks that your kids can see. Anymore it seems like enough people spend a significant amount of money that you can get a good show anywhere. 🙂
Happy 4th of July to all and to all much explosiveness!!! 🙂
Looking back to 2005 it is still the best 4th of July I have ever been apart of. Thanks for that link above as well. I went back and re-read that post. It was great reading all about it again and everyone’s comments. Truly a magical day.
This year I will be taking it easy as well as I’m on call from work overnight tonight and my better half is under the weather. We are arranging for the kiddos to go with our neighbor to see a firework show though.
I hope we can return to blowing things up again in future years when hopefully we will all have a little disposable income.
Thank you John Adams and to everyone past and present who put their lives on the line everyday protecting our idependence. ( I need to watch the HBO John Adams mini-series as well. )
Jeff: That was one unforgettable fourth, to be sure. Epic!
I’ve been fighting the return of this cold I had a few weeks ago. I’m a little better today after being on a coughing jag all day yesterday. You would have thought I was a big time smoker!
Hope you and the kids can do your fireworks thing tonight.
Until moving to Portland OR last year, I’d lived for 22 years in a SoCal city where fireworks – of any kind whatsoever – were illegal. With good cause. There are enough fires in summer in SoCal without adding to the threat. Sure a few people drove a distance and bought some, or went to Mexico and smuggled firecrackers across, but the kind of things you talk about in these two posts I haven’t seen since I was a kid in the late 1950s. That’s okay, my military experiences gave me enough bang and boom, I don’t much care for it these days. Like the cats, I pretty much go hide under the bed (or would if I fit there).
I notice especially in the quote the words “pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, GUNS, bells, bonfires, and illuminations” (my emphasis added. I can do without that part! Back down south, there were an awful lot of kids, packing, who thought the day was the time to fire rounds into the sky. They didn’t care where those bullets came down, either. Every year several people were injured and sometimes killed as a result. So take the guns away, and leave them out of the celebrations, please.
Glad you had a great holiday, or, as I write this, will have one. My neighbors had their big party and blow-off yesterday afternoon and night – all the way to 2:00 am. Yikes. That’s a lot of time under the bed.
RkR: At least you are HOPING that your neighbors had their big party last night! My dog shares the feelings of your cats. Hiding has been the order of this past week for him, and he trembles like he has some sort of palsy. It makes me sad to think how something we see as fun distresses him so much.
Yes, the guns idea is a bad one. Although I assume they were thinking of gun salutes and things that didn’t involve shooting real bullets, but who knows.
I imagine real war experience takes any and all glamour from loud noises and explosions.
I wish you a quieter night this evening. Happy 4th to you and your wife.
I meant when we all have a little MORE disposeable income.
We already have just a little… 🙂
And I forgot to wish your wife good health. I hope that she is feeling better soon.
My favorite memories of the 4th were with my ex-husbands cousins at a concrete boat launch on the Spring River. They were a long and proud line of men devoted to blowing sh#@ up with little or no motivation, so, the 4th was a god-given holiday to them!
The clan would start stockpiling the BIG fireworks over multiple shopping excursions in the weeks prior to the big event. It generally took at least 2 hours or longer to blow everything up with the men folk manning the large stuff and the kids running squealing around with sparklers and waging war with bottle rockets. Kid catches fire, just toss him in the river, fish ’em out and give them a hot dog. (you think i’m joking….i’m not…)
I’ll always remember the huge fireballs and drifting banks of sparks reflecting back from the cold waters of the river and the shrieks, ohhh’s and ahhhh’s of delight, and slapping mosquitos. Never forget the mosquitos!
sgist: Ha! I saw…mostly heard…many exercising that god-given right this weekend, especially late last night. I walked outside to see an explosion (most likely a sparkler bomb) flash and pop that actually staggered me backwards in surprise.
Ah, your visuals have me cracking up. Still, sounds brilliant. What better place to play with fire than up close to water! And we had bottle rocket fights when I was a kid too. Man, I marvel at our stupidity sometimes. It is a wonder we all aren’t maimed.
I did forget the mosquitoes in my reverie above. The smell of Off or Deet or some similar product was always co-mingled with the sulfurous smell of spent fireworks.
I can personally vouch that Roman Candles raise LARGE WELTS on bare skin and that the resulting burned, blistered bruises are extremely unpleasant for weeks after!!! That and bottle rockets fired into your lap cause interesting burns also…
sheesh, i’m amazed any of us survived… ^_^
I feel that same way about a lot of things I did when I was a kid. Things I didn’t let my daughter do.