My new landscaping looks like a Christmas wreath that’s been hangin up past its prime; looks kinda green until you touch it and then a zillion needles fall at your feet. Weather man said it’s been over 100 degrees most of June and July’s gonna start out the same.
Christmas in JulyFault findin’ aside, it’s July and that’s just what to expect. But it got me thinkin about July’s past, young July’s and middle age July’s. Big July’s like 1976 and little July’s like this one past. I think the 4th of July is kind of like Christmas. There’s all this expectation about, “What ya’ll are gonna do and eat; where you gonna go and who you gonna have over. Ya’ll gonna be at the mountains, rivah, beach? July just has her own set of expectations.
Back in the early days, Buck and I used to like to go to Washington. It wasn’t a long ride and heck, it was a hell of a show! We figured it was our tax dollars at work, so why not! I always made a funky hat so he could find me in the crowd. When he told me, first time that we were goin’ to the Mall, I didn’t know he meant the “National Mall.” So you know I was surprised when there were no shops. But it was fun. When we first started, it was whatever hotel was available last minute and we stayed in some interesting places let me tell you. But by the end, we learned our lesson and made reservations. We stayed fancy one time at the Willard (special weekend rates you know) but my all time personal fav was the Holiday Inn by the Air and Space Museum. They had a roof top pool perfect for watchin the moon and the fireworks all the while sippin the Captian from a red, white, and blue plastic cup.
The year Sonny got his citizenship we all decided to stay in the Village, given we already had all those little flags, the bunting and all. So the Neons (predecessors of the Two-Bit-Teena’s ) planned a progressive eatin and drinkin croquet game that began on Lamont, went down the alley, over to the Lamae Café, back out to Lushious and Sonny’s, over to “The DJ and the Manager’s House” then to the Bee’s and finally ended at the HOE (House on the Edge) House of Bubba and VeraLee. Each stop had a festive drink and a “heavy Hor” and the challenge of actually getting your ball through the wicket.
I just wanted to add, that the Neon’s were dressed in black Boost-Tee-Ays that we decorated special with sequins and stars and Wonder Woman like attachments just for the event! Only the Bee (who is sadly no longer named the Bee and no longer associates with us) refused to “hook up for the Holiday”. I have to say, folks in the neighborhood were comin’ out just to see what all the commotion was about! I don’t know who won that game, but it did take us about 6 hours to finish, if we did indeed finish. All I know is that when we got to Bubba’s and he cranked up the backroom and we brought out the tambourines, I called it a night. Now that was a good 4th of July, the year Sonny got his citizenship!
One year VeraLee was whining cause the Dali Lama was in DC and she was stuck in Richmond and she knew better than to ask Bubba to take her into a mass of humanity on the 4th of July, (Don’t even mention the DL) So the Manager, kind man that he is and always up for a DC run, offered to take us! Now true he had just taken a likin to a new feller (Mr. P2) who just happened to live in DC, and who lived not too far from the Mall, and he could certainly visit this new friend while VL and I battled the crowd, So after checkin’ it out with Mr.P2 off we went! We flew! Cause the DL was scheduled to speak at noon and it was already nearly that. We parked (TYMU) and just dove into the masses after adjustin our watches and promising to be back at the fountain at a certain time.
VL and I were fascinated by the secret service “Men in Black” all walkin in what else….black suits, expensive sunglasses, and talkin into tiny little ear pieces, just doin’ what they had to to make sure HHDL was safe. But i tell you, they were so “not secret”. After a few turns around the prayer wheel, we headed off to find a seat for HH's talk. VeraLee wanted so bad to be close so I just told her to hold my shirt tail and I promised I would git her up front, we would walk using the intention of finding the perfect seat. I didn’t tell her that we would probably be pissin’ lots of folks off, but it was important to her and it all worked out.
When it was all over, humbled and inspired to be better, we headed over to cool our heals in the fountain and wait for Mr. P1 and 2 to show. After Tapas and a good Sangria on K Street, we got in to see the Viking “Family Reunion” exhibit too, (cause VL was origionally a Black Irish Princess killed by vikings and I was her sister in a past life...but that's another story) but VL wouldn’t let me buy a hat, she said she could find me in a crowd.
Later we all took to headin’ for the “Hills” on the 4th. The Big Time Boone 4th of July Parade held a fascination for us all. Do you know they had 100 year old men walkin in that thing. One would think they would have gottin them a cart or somethin. I did indeed made a wonderful pinwheel head band that landed my picture on the cover of the Watauga County Democrat!
When that parade was over we rushed about 60 miles per hour, round hair-pen turns and hurlin’ cliffs to git to Blowin Rock to catch the next show and do some serious shoppin, eatin, and drinkin. Lushious knew all the back roads, but it was VeraLee who found us a back way home and straight into the parkin’ lot of Harris Teeter so we could pick up the rest of the fixin’s for that night’s dinner.
The Universal Mother let all the folks know that Lushious had brought in about 12 of her little friends for the holiday, so folks came out to see us, Minni and Ken, Miss Hal, Bobby, a truck load of cousins from Pigeon Fork and jus anybody who ever knew Nurse and Zeb stopped in. I wish I could remember how many pounds of ribs and Bar-B-Q and slaw and corn and butter beans and cantaloupe we ate that night; and then how many dozen eggs and pounds of bacon in the morning. Cookin started at 6:00 a.m. when I got up to make coffee and didn’t stop….until I had finished the last “center” out of the “Stick-Boy” cinnamon buns. It wouldn’t be fittin if I didn’t mention the Jalapeno Pimento Cheese and Sourdough bread from the Farmer’s Market. It wouldn’t be the 4th without Jalapeno Pimento Cheese!
After dinner we’d walk down the Mountain to Appalachian State for the fireworks and a few laps around the arena jus to make room for pound cake and ice-cream when we got home. VeraLee usually brought out the Fiction-ary and as usual tested the likes of us all. Better than a story she always said!
Seems like now...we all have our own "places" and I guess that says somethin about success and all, but to be honest, I'd trade it all for another round of croquet right here in the Friendly Village. Happy 4th everyone!
Now I mean no harm or disrespect but have you ever noticed how when you go lookin for a recipe on the internet that you find it and it sounds good and it has five stars and then you drop down a little lower to investigate what folks actually said about “the recipe” and they say things like; “this was the best peach pie recipe ever, I made a few changes like I added a teaspoon of nutmeg, and I didn’t use the sugah they called for, or I substituted agave and then tapioca for the cornstarch, then I added a cup of white wine and only cooked it for 20% of the time the author mentioned and then left it in the oven overnight and it was perfect.”
