“Because, you know, it IS all about liberty…”

So said my Aunt Joann in a voice mail last week as we planned our meal for July 4th. Her other plans of remembering soldiers by name or a moment of silence, and having an Uncle Sam and Miss Liberty weren't realized. However, I think her patriotic yearnings were satisfied when our crazy family burst into song as we gathered for the blessing. Think "My Country Tis of Thee", "America the Beautiful", "Yankee Doodle", "You're a Grand Old Flag"....you get the picture.

After dinner, our family learned the hard way that riding bikes at dusk to see fireworks only guarantees that you will be riding back in pitch black darkness.

The plan was pure Americana, so picturesque. We would all hop on our beach cruisers (the most popular mode of transportation here on the island) and stake out a beach spot close to where the fireworks were being launched. Then, in Cruise family togetherness, we could ooh and aah over the stunning display. Yup. Right. Except that we all left at different times and no one knew where the others were. Two were on the beach, four were ahead on the path before they realized they were missing the rest of the group, and the rest of the group was...well, doing as well as could be expected of a caravan of ten riders. The Tour de France we were not.

Fireworks over, we all realized that it was now pitch black and the only person smart enough to bring a large flashlight was 7 year old Madison. (Actually, Allie stole it from Madison's room and Madison was smart enough to ask for it back.) That meant that we were now a literal, living example of the blind leading the blind. I'll leave the rest of it to your imagination but, for a bit of fodder, Aunt Betsy did go over her handlebars at one point.

Also, I learned that riding a bike with a margarita in one hand only guarantees that you will have margarita all over you by the time you reach your destination.

{Originally posted on July 5, 2005. But I swear, thinking of that night still makes me weep with laughter. Happy 4th of July! May your hotdog be cooked just right, your fireworks colorful and loud and your libations cold and sweet…}