[redwitch]

I only lived in two small towns in the U.S. I do remember the parade and the picnic after. Great fun!

When we were overseas, we always had a birthday party for America and invited all of the neighbors (who were usually natives of their country). I enjoyed those parties far more. There'd be a birthday cake and ice cream; whatever could be scrounged up to make a typical American 4th of July feast. Fireworks were usually easy to come by. My father would give a brief history of why this was such an important holiday to us. We'd also ask about their important holidays and birth of their nations and celebrate that as well.

I've tried to instill the love of the 4th to my daughter. Sadly, I don't think I succeeded. She sees the 4th as a day of bbqs, boating, fireworks; but misses the meaning and specialness of the 4th. The media is partly to blame. To me, I think a bigger culprit is not living in small towns. Cities and larger towns just don't seem to celebrate the 4th the way we want it celebrated -- it's a big event with a fortune spent on fireworks but none of the innocence and community participation. Hopefully, my grandson will see more of the small-town 4th celebrations living in Central Florida.