If I’m lucky (this could be said for any of us) I’ll live to see 65 or 75 Fourth of July holidays. You know, give or take. I’ve used up a third of them and now I’m in the second third. I think a lot about life as it passes us by and what it all means. I think the 4th of July is one of the happiest times for our country, is it not?
A couple of years we did a joke post about the 4th of July of a lifetime. That was good for a few laughs but thinking back to my childhood, I had such great 4th of July holidays.
So many things come to mind. Playing baseball in the front yard all day with the neighborhood kids, only stopping when my dad told me the home made vanilla ice cream was done. When I got a little older, I ran the grill with my mom. And then a little older, me and some buddies were still playing ball in the front yard in High School and we decided we wanted to add Budweiser into the equation; because that was American to us. And so we went to the gas station and had someone who was of legal age buy us those Budweiser tall boys. And we went back in the yard and played ball until the boomers went off.
And I got a little older. The big party at my house with all my best friends from college. Passing out on my sisters trampoline around a bonfire. Every memory on the 4th ended with beautiful fireworks. It also culminated beautifully with the sport of baseball, as there is great MLB action on all day on this day to honor our country.
I remember a charity when I was a kid that every home run hit on the 4th there was some huge amount of money donated. This was for the minor and major leagues. I just thought it was a really cool concept even as a kid. I really wanted my favorite players to homer on this day.
Like the kids in the move Sandlot. There’s something mystifying about this day for a baseball fan.
This year, there isn’t going to be any fireworks. I’m in Ft. Wayne, Indiana for a wedding. I’ll probably never be here again. It’s a very quaint town. So today, instead of seeing new fireworks and making new typical 4th of July memories, I think back to all the great ones I’ve had before and hopefully will have in the future. And at 1:00, even though we’ve been kicked out of our hotel room, I’m going to find somewhere to watch my team play on some television somewhere. It’s what the fourth means to me. It’s American. It feels good.
I want to wish everyone who crosses paths with this site a safe and happy 4th of July. It’s one of the best holidays there is.
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