Fireworks and Goosebumps

We had a very nice show this year. Some years are better than others. It seemed most of the fireworks were pretty big. Here's a little lesson for you. The big booming fireworks are called "Bill Fred" and the little ones are called "Pooters." It's a long story how those were named, but it happened back in high school and the names have stuck. I have been watching the show in Canyon almost all of my life. There are a few years that were exceptions like the year I drove to Austin/San Marcos to surprise my now ex-husband when we were dating. I ended up watching the show in Austin at Lake Travis which was incredible. The next day I went to go find Richard and it turned out that he left early and came home to surprise me.

Ever since I was a kid I've watched the works from this house, however. Many years ago, our backyard offered the perfect viewing site because the park where the fireworks are shot from is only two blocks away. Unfortunately many of the trees in the area have grown so much that you can't get a good view from the back yard any more. But I remember jumping on the trampoline and eating fudgecicles and anxiously awaiting the show to start. There used to be a patio area in the backyard where we would shoot a few of our own fireworks like the little tanks, fountains and such. We always had sparklers and we would write our names in the dark with them. I remember that I got a burn on my arm one year from something that we shot off and one of the sparks landed on it. We still have a prime viewing spot despite the trees. Now we just go across the street to the church parking lot and sit in lawn chairs. The view is just perfect. The show is almost always the same. They play the same music beginning with the Star Spangled Banner and ending with Battle Hymn of the Republic. In between there are Sousa marches and other patriotic songs. I always get goosebumps when they play "God Bless the U.S.A." I know it's not a favorite of some people, but I really like the song. Tonight was no different, I still got the goosebumps. I sat there thinking that we do live in a pretty good place. We can complain about the president, taxes and certain laws we may not like, but I think we have it pretty good. Sometimes I think we have too much freedom, but there are a lot of freedoms that I do appreciate. I don't participate in politics and I don't give much thought to voting, but I appreciate that I do have the right to take part in the democratic process. It's good to have freedom of religion despite the fact that unfortunately there are quite a few odd denominations out there. I think that as a country we do have a lot of pride and we have those moments that we do come together. It's sad, though, that often times it takes a tragedy like 911 or Katrina to pull people together. I think we all need to practice loving our neighbors around us despite our differences. Well, enough rambling for tonight. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July.