wistful smurf

From time to time (and entirely too often), I find myself wishing I could just go back to a certain point and time in life and live there again --- either start over from that point and see what I could change, or even just enjoy those years again....  This is of course pretty fruitless, but yet I keep going back to it.

My default seems to be to go back to college and the times I enjoyed there with good friends.   But presently I have picked something a bit stranger to harken back to...

When I was little, July 4th meant, generally, going over to the Bal Harbour Club for their dinner BBQ, then down to the beach to watch the fireworks.

Now, even at the time, I knew the Bal Harbour Club was a rat shack, the food was just okay (which is weird because any other day they had pretty great burgers), and the fireworks show was average.   But there was a simplicity to it all, especially being a "little squirt".   And of course spending holiday time with the family was something I appreciated and somewhere I was pretty fortunate --- and our family friends in the community were always pretty nice to me when I was a rugrat.  And hey, to a little kid --- the beach at night, BBQ food and fireworks, why not?!?

I even remember someone (we've had discussions back and forth since then as to who it was) that used his cigar to light some roman candles when we ran out of matches.   I've tried duplicating that feat and have largely failed.

July 4 took on a new meaning for me when I was a teen.   Without going into too much detail (if you're reading this there's a decent chance you already know the details), suffice it to say there was a year when making it to July 4 was a victory.

Now it's a cause for celebration again.   For the past couple of years I've really as an (ahem) adult enjoying the new July 4 ritual --- a day of party and cookout and fun at the in-laws with friends from all walks of life.

But I wonder how many of the people there know that I have my own very personal reasons for celebrating on the 4th and all it means to me.   And I wonder if they have their own stories.

Ya know, involving shooting aliens and such.