There Must Be Fireworks

Do they have the 4^th of July in Ireland? Yes right between the 3^rd and the 5^th.   I remember the first time I spent “The 4^th of July” in a foreign country.   I was 13 and we spent the first two weeks of July in Ireland.  It was the first time it occurred to me that  “The 4^th of July” was not the actual name of our Independence Day holiday.  In Ireland, and everywhere else, it’s just the date.  I have a very vivid memory of that day.  We were a large group in a small pub in the Maam Valley.  This was 1980 before Ireland had such a large tourist industry, so our Irish American clan was somewhat of a novelty.  Everyone wished us a happy holiday and there was even a round of God Bless America.  But there were no fireworks.  I felt like something was missing. 

I love how it’s just called “The 4^th of July” and everyone knows what you are talking about.  It’s usually a long weekend and the REAL kickoff of summer. All weekend we celebrate being American with all the kitch and casual lifestyle for which we are known.   I just paged through my social media page and saw all my friends’ photos of pool parties, face paintings and beach BBQ’s complete with sack races and fireworks.   There has to be fireworks.  I love it!  Pure Americana.  There is a certain beauty in the faces of the children in those pictures that captures the freedom that’s represented by our country. 

Our NJ town always had the traditional parade where we kids marched behind the VFW group with our ball teams and scout troops waving like A List celebrities. Back then I had no idea why those old men in faded uniforms were included.  It was The 4^th of July not Veterans or Memorial Day. The day always ended at the Little League field with some fireworks.  It wasn’t until I was a little older and understood that a fireworks display is a celebratory way to recall a victory in a war.  If it weren’t for those old men and their predecessors there would be no parade in the first place.

My Dad had a big boat when I was growing up.  He kept it on the Chesapeake.  In 1976 we anchored in Baltimore Harbor, across from Ft. McHenry, to watch the fireworks.  It was the Bi-centennial Year for America.  We’d been our own nation for 200 years.  In 1814 “The Star Spangled Banner” was written in that harbor while there were actual “bombs bursting in air”.  So the fireworks were fully significant.   I was 9 years old but I was acutely aware that if I can live to be 109 I will witness the “Tri-Centenial” when our country will turn 300.   We have 65 more years to go.

One of my favorite years was 1986; The 100^th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.  My father piloted our boat up the Hudson River for a vacation stopping at Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy, West Point Military Academy and culminated in anchoring in New York Harbor to watch the fireworks display celebrating Lady Liberty.  I tried to capture some great photos of the fireworks and The Lady with my camera and tripod.  They came out like they had been made with a Spirograph since the boat was constantly in gentle motion.

That weekend there were thousands of boats in the harbor.  The tides in NY Harbor rip quickly and you could tell which were the inexperienced boaters and sailors.  People would just pull up along side of any other boat and drop their anchors never giving a thought to the fact that when that tide shifts every boat around you will swing on their anchor lines.  My father and brother-in-law stayed up all night to make sure we weren’t part of any mess.  Around 5:00am I heard the big throaty engines roll to life.  There was a group of boats knotted together drifting right toward us.  We needed to move quickly.  We’d already seen the fireworks, so it was okay to leave now.

This year I again spent “The 4^th of July” in a foreign country.  However, this year we are part of an Embassy community so we still had “The 4^th of July”.  It was an official function at the Chief of Mission Residence.  The Star Spangled banner was sung mildly accented by Polish followed directly by the Polish National Anthem. There were hundreds of people.  It was a lovely evening of American food and International colleagues.  There were no sack races or face painting but there were some pretty good fireworks. My kids weren’t with us though and when my girls realized they didn’t get to see the fireworks they were disappointed.  My 15 year old was adamant about doing something special next year.  I guess she felt a little cheated, like something was missing.  There is no way around it, for an American, there is no 4^th of July if you don’t see some fireworks.