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I no sooner finished the last entry complaining of the miserable July 4th parade when another door opened. I noticed a new RV had pulled in behind us sporting a license plate from Ohio. I sauntered over and asked the inhabitants specifically where in the Buckeye state did they reside. Lo and behold, I found that Joe was from Greene County and lived not far from us during most of our married lives. He talked of Waynesburg, a town we lived in for years, citing all the hunting grounds, mining towns and local haunts that were a part of his recent past. It was as having family visit from back home. I invited Joe and his wife Peggy, along with children Ally and Joe, Jr. to our campfire that I had intended providing in the next few minutes. Once the pyro in me ignites the evenings illumination, it magnetizes the entire neighborhood. One could just watch as friends and neighbors would pick up their chairs, spirits in hand, and make their way over to the blaze. Within fifteen minutes the crackling roar of the flames had drawn in twenty-two of us and I knew there was a need to organize this crowd in some way. I announced an ice breaker as many faces were new to the circle. My plan was to have each person tell something about themselves unknown and of human interest that would show a different side to all of us. It worked great. The stories ranked from interesting to amazing and we all learned more of each other’s daily machinations. Soon there were a handful of different conversations going on at one time. To counteract the fact that the earlier parade provided no band or patriotic music, Robin put a Stars and Stripes CD in the player and the background music lent an atmosphere of small town America to our throng of new friends. Smores and stories, bullwhips and beer continued flowing into the night. 
We all paused to watch a display of fireworks set off from the town center of Medora. Being only hundreds of yards away we all had an excellent view right from our lawn chairs encircling the campfire. Sleepy eyes, work commitments and over indulgence took over the night and one by one the circle dissipated to only the young. Robin and I turned in around midnight leaving the fire to be tended by those in need of less sleep. What started out as a disappointment ended with a glorious celebration of our Independence. And it all started out with a common bond of Pittsburghese.
Always the collector and host with the most………and leave it to Robin to have the most welcoming site in the park, plus theme music to add romance to the scene……….Glad it brought a sense of home and welbeing to your Fourth of July celebration.