Fourth of July Red, White and (Blues)

Happy Fourth Of July everyone!!  What a difference a year makes.  One year ago today I was nursing, or in my feeble attempt, assisting Robin as she had just undergone her second surgery in a month. This one ended with a plate and six screws in her neck.  I brought her home from a Myrtle Beach hospital and we watched festivities and fireworks from the streets of downtown Selma, NC.  That was nice but not what I’ve been accustomed to.  Today was quite different.  I have been used to spending this holiday watching the biggest parade in ‘little town America’ for years. That’s what Canonsburg, PA prides itself on.  Hometown crooners Bobby Vinton and Perry Como are just an afterthought to this parade. Hometown locals will set chairs and benches out a week in advance to “claim their spot”.  Ropes and chains are the watchword on every sidewalk throughout town. The bands, the music, the floats, and the throngs of onlookers made one  feel good to be an American in a small town.  High schoolers dressed in full uniforms, bass drums pounding out beats in sync with the heart, trumpets blaring out sounds of Sousa and patriotic tunes would find the hairs on my arms standing at attention.  Nostalgia and patriotism are a large part of my makeup. Being in the heartland of America, I was pumped for my first Fourth of July parade here in North Dakota.  Oh, what a letdown. No bands, no patriotic music, not even a pre-recorded tune blaring from a loudspeaker. Nostalgia and patriotism gave way to melancholy.  The sidewalk crowds made more noise than the entire routers.  Later in the day, a phone call from best friends Jay and Chris was heartwarming but it made for missing the Canonsburg parade a projected magnification on a grande scale.  Next year, I’m finding a town that goes all out for the nation’s birthday party. Perhaps I’ll book a lawn chair on Pike Street and enjoy the best parade in small town America once again.