“List on the 3s:” Shiny’s Top 10 Independence Day Memories

Sorry for the late post; I blame the YouTube for being slow.

“List on the 3s” is a meme. And a rather silly one at that. On any date that contains the number 3, I come up with a list. And a rather silly list at that. I plan to do this until December 31, 2012 — because then the next 365 days will all be lists and I’m just not that devoted.

Tomorrow is the holiday which most people call “July Fourth” or “The Fourth of July.” Which I suppose is acceptable. But I prefer to call it “Independence Day” in honor of that Wil Smith movie which was far-fetched not because of an alien invasion but moreso because Judd Hirsch played Jeff Goldblum’s annoying father — and was allowed into a strategic bunker where he could make all of the stereotypical Jewish father comments he liked.

So, anyway — where was I? Ah, yes. Independence Day. Living in the DC area makes this day an absolute treat and/or nightmare, depending on how you look at it. For me, it’s been a great experience celebrating independence in the Nation’s Capital.  Here are a few memories to share…

Top 10 Independence Day Memories

1. July 4, 1976 – somewhere in Suburban Maryland near DC: I can remember flashes of images from the home where I grew up before we moved when I was 2.  But the first event where I feel like I had a good recall was July 4, 1976. It was a picnic dinner that we had with family friend. (I don’t remember which ones.) There was an orange frisbee there which I recall — and we parked our 1972 green Dodge Cornonet on the grass. Other cars around had Bicentennial license plates; ours didn’t.   I don’t remember the fireworks (if we even stayed that long).

I wish I had remembered more of the Bicentennial; I have a feeling I won’t be alive for the Tricentennial. Or if I am, I’ll probably be too busy watching a Matlock Marathon inside to care…

2. July 4, 1980 – at summer camp near Ft. Richie and Camp David, Maryland: It was my first summer away from home — a wonderful four weeks at Camp Airy, a Jewish summer camp for boys in the Catoctin Mountains close by Camp David. We were always excited by the prospect of President Carter possibly driving by at any given moment.

There was an Independence Day celebration as part of camp that evening, and all I remember is that it got very rowdy and out of hand — to the point where the camp director (“Big Ed”) got up in front of all of us and started yelling at us — sending us all back to the bunks without the fireworks that were going to be set off at camp.  Which sucked,  because there’s nothing better than fireworks displays when you’re eight.

But from the window of our bunk, we could see the amazing fireworks being set off at Ft. Richie, just a few miles down the road. They were pretty far away, but we could still hear the pops and crackles of them as they went off. It was kind of cool – all of us huddled around one solitary window.

3. July 4, 1988 – University of Maryland, College Park, MD: Ah, life at college. What could beat that? I had no clue because I had just completed ninth grade at the time. But my friend from our theater camp, Josh, had a brother who offered to drive us in his RV to College Park so we could enjoy the bands and the fireworks there.  I remember two things specifically: (1) Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers; and (2) this really cute girl from camp named Marjie who was flirting with me and feeling up my arms through my shirt, commenting on how muscular I was. I had no idea how to react. So I just stood there, frozen. Good times…

4. July 4, 1992 – Vero Beach, FL: This time I had two years of college under my belt. I was spending the summer working for the Orientation department at the University of Maryland, and eight of us took a 14-hour roadtrip down to Disney World for the long weekend, crashing at our friend ‘Berto’s mom’s house in Vero Beach over the next few days. We watched a Grapefruit League game featuring the Vero Beach Dodgers followed by fireworks with some great company. And we got pulled over twice on the way back home.

5. July 4, 1993 – Jerusalem, Israel: It’s much easier to celebrate Independence Day in the country celebrating the anniversary. But sometimes it’s a more intense feeling when you’re elsewhere.  I was staffing a summer trip with about fifty high school students from North America, the overwhelming majority of whom were from the USA.  We had a barbecue and sang patriotic songs while everyone else looked at us as if we were total idiots. Guess you had to be there…

6. July 4, 1998 – Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC: It was the first time socKs and I were living together in the same city — our apartment was a few miles’ walk from DC, so we walked to the Lincoln Memorial with a bunch of friends, meeting other friends there.  I had been to the National Mall in DC in years before where we concentrated on the college partying scene (fraternity banners, kegs, couches and the like were permissible pre-9/11); this time we hung out with the 20-something crowd. It was very nice and laid back. Lots of people took their shoes off and put their feet in the reflecting pool. (This Independence Day moment brought to you by Tinactin.)

7. July 4, 2000 – Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington, VA: I was disappointed that our flight was getting back into DC from L.A. (where we were at a wedding) too close for us to make it to DC by foot. So — what did we do instead as soon as we came home? We:

* dropped off our bags at our apartment
* called Dominos and placed an order for a large pizza
* Stopped at 7-Eleven for monster-huge Slurpees
* Walked over to the local Dominos and picked up our pizza
* Walked another 3/4 mile or so to the Iwo Jima Memorial, where we sat down to eat about fifteen minutes before the fireworks show was to begin.

We got a lot of hungry stares from the crowd who watched us edge our way in with a pizza. (Some of them even offered to buy it off of us — but hey! We were hungry!) It was relaxing — and a short trip home after the fact.

8. July 4, 2001 –  Washington, DC: our friends from Atlanta were in town to visit. In fact, they were our first visitors in our new house! We drove downtown and experienced major thunderstorms on and off for the entire afternoon and evening.  Drenched and in ponchos, we heard the *BOOM* at 9:10 as the fireworks went on as scheduled.  A good time was had by all.

We drove home in record time, and right before we we ready to go into the house, I realized that I had locked my house keys (and car keys) in the car. I called AAA and found that lock-outs really weren’t much of a priority on July 4th, so I was potentially screwed. Except that our houseguest figured out how to break into my car without damaging it so much, saving the day. This would-be perp has gone on to win three Emmys.

9. July 4, 2006 – My parents’ home in Rockville, MD and the Pentagon in Arlington, VA: We decided to take it easy that year and go to my parents’ house.  It was one of the hottest summers in a long time, and we felt it was a bit dangerous to bake out in the sun all day on the Mall.  So we stayed at home. My Mom watched the Space Shuttle launch with Avi as well as – ready for this? – Cinderella.  It was something they enjoyed watching together.  We were able to visit two more times that month before my Mom died suddenly, but this was really the last celebration we all had together. My memories of her were happy.

On our way back home, impulsively, we decided to turn off into the Pentagon’s mammoth parking lot and watch the fireworks from across the river.  We had plenty of time to play catch, have snacks, and enjoy the evening.

10. July 4, 2007 – Washington, DC: After enjoying not-so-stellar service at an American-themed restaurant which will remain nameless but capitalizes on a specific day of the week, we were able to get in the city just in the nick of time to watch fireworks near the Mall. It was socKs, Av, my Dad, his girlfriend and myself.

The fireworks were wonderful. But if you want to skip them, go to about a minute and a half in to see some cute video of the kid…

DC Fireworks – July 4, 2007 from Shiny on Vimeo.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting my Dad and the girlfriend at their new place. And then we’ll head back down to DC for a picnic dinner.  If you’re in the DC area, feel free to join us! (Bring your own sandwiches.)