Another person recently shared their 4th of July memories: On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 6:56 AM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote:
> I'm a sappy romantic patriot when it comes to Independence day. I love > remembering the joyous days of youth when we had plenty of firecrackers, > smoke > bombs, 'Roman candles' and maybe a few outlawed cherry bombs. We had the > run of > the little Wisconsin farm town and probably did dangerous things by > setting off > 'fingerling' firecrackers by every little pigtailed girl we saw or by > blowing up > tin cans with bigger three-inch firecrackers and shooting our bee-be guns > at > every sparrow we glimpsed. The cherry bombs were saved for something > special, > something big, out of adult view. I remember the flag parades down Main > Street > with the old WWI veterans trudging loosely ahead of snappy young soldiers > in > close formation. The pathetic High school Band did its best, too, and all > applauded them. Then we had our big afternoon picnic on a bluff > overlooking the > Mississippi and I can assure you it was pure Americana with lots of fat > relatives in aprons spreading out their three hundred varieties of potato > salads, cold chicken, beer, pop and cookies on half-rotted picnic tables > while > Oshkosh-by-Gosh farmer-husbands lit campfires for hot-dogs and > marshmellows. We > messy reckless kids ran and climbed trees, stick-chasing puppies barked, > sputtering old sun-faded rattle-trap cars still steamed under a big tree > at the > hilltop. Best of all was the huge vista of blue sky, the wide river, > and the > distant woodsy lands beyond (where imaginary Indians danced). None of it > was > ever equal led in later, older eyes. Now I want to celebrate the grown up > American Dream that underpinned that children's' delight: Social equality > and > fellowship; honesty and fair play; freedom with charity. If you're an > American, > you'd better wave that flag today or be shamed. You almost surely have > more good > fortune than you deserve. I'll also celebrate liberal-progressive ancestors > David Conger, private NJ militia, 1776-78; Edward Conkling, Sag Harbor NY, > Commander of Privateer Eagle killed at sea by British foes, 8 May 1779; and > David Seabury, patriot, killed at Ft. Groton CT by mercenaries led by > traitor > Benedict Arnold, 6 Sept. 1781. They and millions of others have assured > our > still evolving ideals and Independence, still the best ever devised and > sustained so long. It's a cultural aesthetic. > wc
