Today is day 4 of my 4-day weekend! I am having a beer at 1:30 (Ballast Point, Big Eye!) while simultaneously recovering from a late July 4th night and gearing up for my intense 3-day workweek. How freakin' great is the summer?
Random plant update from 2 posts back:
In the name of humanity, I've induced physician-assisted suicide on my pansies from March and stopped watering them because they were looking pretty worse for wear (from the summer heat). On the plus side, check out how much the basil have grown since June 14!
So...oh, yeah, Independence Day. The patriot in me decided to celebrate by not staying at home and watching King of the Hill all day (although if there is anything more Amurrican than Hank Hill, I don't want to know about it). Chris and I spent the evening in the Art Museum area, where we were literally right under the fireworks and got to observe the migration of the Philadelphian people, coming out en masse to commemorate the most historical of American holidays, in arguably the most historical of American cities. As familiar as I am now, through attendance at countless Phillies games, with the feeling of being a component entity of a dynamic superorganism, it was still a somewhat foreign sensation to simultaneously observe and participate in a community activity of tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of my genetic and cultural peers. At the corner of Pennsylvania and Fairmount we all stood completely rapt as we watched, necks craned, the explosive ascent of fireball after fireball shattering into millions of golden specks and arching comet tails, trailing willowy fingers of smoke that showered onto the tops of our heads and into the streets. Interestingly, it was not altogether different from feeling the smallness of oneself when staring into the abyss of the night sky, alone. The same liberating feeling of being but a speck on the map comes also, somehow, when sharing a brief 10 minutes with a sea of strangers... After the grand finale of fireworks, almost like magic, all the block parties and patio furniture folded themselves back up, tucked back into alleys and hallways, and we all retreated to the nooks and crannies we came from.
I'll end this July 4 post with just the best, best vibes to my dear friend Jeff King, who is serving abroad. Once you've been through employment at the Rockville Library together, you are bonded for life;) We are thinking of you back here in the states, so keep yourself safe until we see you again!
Random plant update from 2 posts back:
In the name of humanity, I've induced physician-assisted suicide on my pansies from March and stopped watering them because they were looking pretty worse for wear (from the summer heat). On the plus side, check out how much the basil have grown since June 14!
So...oh, yeah, Independence Day. The patriot in me decided to celebrate by not staying at home and watching King of the Hill all day (although if there is anything more Amurrican than Hank Hill, I don't want to know about it). Chris and I spent the evening in the Art Museum area, where we were literally right under the fireworks and got to observe the migration of the Philadelphian people, coming out en masse to commemorate the most historical of American holidays, in arguably the most historical of American cities. As familiar as I am now, through attendance at countless Phillies games, with the feeling of being a component entity of a dynamic superorganism, it was still a somewhat foreign sensation to simultaneously observe and participate in a community activity of tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of my genetic and cultural peers. At the corner of Pennsylvania and Fairmount we all stood completely rapt as we watched, necks craned, the explosive ascent of fireball after fireball shattering into millions of golden specks and arching comet tails, trailing willowy fingers of smoke that showered onto the tops of our heads and into the streets. Interestingly, it was not altogether different from feeling the smallness of oneself when staring into the abyss of the night sky, alone. The same liberating feeling of being but a speck on the map comes also, somehow, when sharing a brief 10 minutes with a sea of strangers... After the grand finale of fireworks, almost like magic, all the block parties and patio furniture folded themselves back up, tucked back into alleys and hallways, and we all retreated to the nooks and crannies we came from.
I'll end this July 4 post with just the best, best vibes to my dear friend Jeff King, who is serving abroad. Once you've been through employment at the Rockville Library together, you are bonded for life;) We are thinking of you back here in the states, so keep yourself safe until we see you again!
1 comment:
nice to see that you had a wonderful july 4th weekend. i like your vivid description of the fireworks--i felt i was there to watch the action. the hot wave is engulfing the dc area, and the philly too, i believe. please stay cool and safe. love.
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