It seems like July 3 is just as great for watching fireworks as July 4. That is, if one doesn’t mind that most of them are roadside-purchased bottle rockets.
I sat out on my dock after finishing season 2 of Weeds (to which I say, “omg, omg, omg!”) and jumped out of my skin a few times as my neighbors shot their fireworks out over my head. The sky was clearing, the bats were swarming, it was 10 p.m. in America and I couldn’t wait for today. Mayville and Chautauqua is a magnificent Fourth of July haven.
So today I’m leaving work early, making baked beans and cornbread, grilling, entertaining my parents and some friends, swimming in the lake, casting for a few fish and watching fireworks displays all around the lake from my perfectly positioned dock.
And it’s going to feel magical to sit under a sky full of stars and a banner of stars and stripes with a popsicle and a beer and be truly a Summer American.
Stereotypical, movie-style holidays are necessary every once in awhile. When I spend my summers in a town strewn with American flags and ma-and-pop shops, a dreamlike Fourth is essential.
Enjoy, everyone.
