Fourth of July!

Waiting patently for the parade to begin

Grace loved her special dress!

Here comes the fire truck

It's the peloton!

Grace enjoying the ride



I like the Fourth of July. Not that I'm some sort of over zealous patriot or something but, as a historian, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the day's significance. The day's significance was lost on poor King George who wrote in his diary on July 4, 1776, "Nothing of consequence happened today." My how communication has changed. It's also pretty cool thinking about those guys cloistered in Independence Hall signing a Declaration of Independence that might as well have been their own death warrant. Of course all of this is lost on Grace. It's actually lost on quite a few people that don't have age as an excuse.

We were excited to find out that this year's parade would pass right by our house. We explained to Grace that there would be a party out front and this caused considerable excitement. We had heard from a neighbor that kids could decorate their bikes and walk in the parade so we jazzed up the tricycle and plopped ourselves out front ready for what we heard was a rather small parade. We were pleasantly surprised! The local fire department brought out all the engines and Grace eagerly watched from her dad's shoulders. There were bag pipers and four old guys from the local VFW who carried the flag with a solemnity that got me a little choked up. But the best part of the parade was seeing all the kids on their bikes eagerly following behind. We jumped right in and Grace's head did not stop moving the whole time, pointing, laughing, open-eyed. There was even a fly over from the local naval air base. We all marched up to the firehouse where there were free hot dogs and lemonade. The place was mobbed with children and excited parents.

After living in the city for so long and having the 4th of July spectacle literally in our backyard, it was wonderful to participate in a small town event. It was just the right scale for all the kids to participate and appreciate. Next year I'm buying out the party good store and we're winning the best decorated bike contest. Watch here for pictures!