the seventh of july

 all photos taken by the sweetie.

we spend the fourth of july in brooklyn. that's right. a dry borough in a dry city in a dry state. the days leading up to the fourth the tv spews out reports of illegal fireworks rings and massive fireworks smuggling busts and detailed information on what will happen to you if the city of new york finds your filthy self with a weapon of mass celebration. i understand, though. in a city with more than eight million people, random drunken explosives detonating is probably not the best idea. understanding something falls surprisingly short of being at peace with it.

i have never, not once, spent my own best holiday without something to light, without the smell of brimstone curling up into my nose. even in strangely explosives-conservative maine, we had sparklers on a dock. even there. but this year the holiday falls smack in the middle of a week when the sweetie, who has a civilian job, is not on vacation. so we cannot escape. wait, you say. there's the macy's fireworks extravaganza out on the hudson river. surely you can see those. but if you say that you are probably one of those folks who cannot imagine a fat slice of the eight million people who live here streaming down to the water, cramming themselves precariously onto piers ten hours early just to say they saw fireworks in america's finest city. well, look at some footage of dick clark on new year's eve. think 100 degrees. imagine it. 

i hope for the massive thunderstorms the tv has been warning about, the ones everyone out on those piers hopes will pass by. i don't care that i am selfish. i want the sky to explode. nothing happens. instead we lie on the couch with the window a/c blowing full force on us because it is too hot to be outside without a reason. me, the sweetie, the dog. we get burgers to go from down the street and enough fries to bury us. we do not even watch the fireworks on tv. i am an adult. i am surprised how broken i feel missing bits of spark in the air.

but in my self-pity i have forgotten. i have forgotten the catskills, forgotten the margaretville fire department and the carnival. i am a fool. because the margaretville fire department is celebrating their 125th anniversary just a few days after my own best holiday and they're doing it with a carnival that lasts most of a week, a parade down main street and fireworks that promise to be "giant". i don't really think there's much more to say. just look...

stamford f.d. band

andes f.d. has serious uniforms