As it were…

I’ve always loved the 4th of July. As a kid we would always get the mail-order fireworks catalog, and look in the back to see what was legal in MI, and bemoan the fact that nothing cool was legal. So we ordered ground flowers, and smoke bombs, and fountains, and various other things. And then we waited forever for them to come in the mail.

Harrisville’s fireworks were always the saturday evening closest to the 4th, and we’d go into town and walk down by the water in the harbour. The last few years we’ve gone right out on the rocks of the breakwall. It’s a small town affair, probably 400 people show up, and there are always a few people wandering around selling glowing necklaces and stuff.

I also enjoy history around this time of year. When I was a kid, I read a lot of books about kids in the revolutionary war and stuff. Star Eye is a great book set in the French and Indian War. Living out in the woods the way I did, it wasn’t hard to imagine I was back then, and I spent tons of time running around in the woods fighting those nasty Brits.

But this year, I wasn’t in my hometiwn. Nor was I in Grand Rapids. I was at my in-laws. I saw a few sparkles over the trees to the south, where the hunt club was blowing off some steam.

And I’m very happy about this.

They had a pig-roast today. We went up north yesterday, and spent some really good time with them. Joe (my father-in-law) and I spent many many hours thawing a 200lb carcass, wrangling it on the spit, and getting it cooking. It cooked for 12 hours. And boy was it good. It was a wild Russian Boar that my mother-in-law shot. (With a gun Max, In the heart).

My folks came, and when they left they took the girls for the week, so my wife and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary with a whole week together alone.

A good time was had by all.