I have photos, I promise! We went to Allegan(a local town) tonight for their fireworks show! Boy, did that bring back the memories! I used to work in Allegan at Subs'N'More. It has since closed, but I loved that job! Can't say I was fond of the owner, but that's another story. It was my first "real" job(legal, paperwork filing type of job) and I just adored it! I loved the customers(well, some of them) who would come in repeatedly. I loved being part of our little Subs'N'More family. My favorite thing was when we got busy and I would have to dash over there and cut onions, and dash downstairs and bring up a fresh bucket of pickles! We all had so much fun together.
Every year on the 3rd of July we would work tirelessly to feed the hungry masses, and then right as the fireworks would start we would hurry up and close down shop, lock the doors, and dash for the roof. Allegan is a historic town, so Subs'N'More was in a 2 story brick building... the bottom had been renovated, but the top was like a trip back in time. There were ledgers from the lawyers office, and random articles from the barber shop that used to be up there. The owner's daughter and I loved exploring up there! In order to get to the roof we would have to go outside and upstairs.. then we would have to open the wall, that was a door, then go in and around and up the rickety ladder, through the ceiling opening, onto the roof. It was so fantastic at 16!
Hard to believe that it was almost 10 years ago!
Last time I went to the Allegan fireworks they were terrible. Really. We climbed all of the way up on that roof and they were ridiculous and horrible. They were literally over in 10 minutes, and half of them were duds. So I decided not to go again. Besides, South Haven has them and they are on the beach! What could be better than that?!
Well, we went this year... and they were so great!
Allegan has a mini carnival every year on the fireworks day... sticky, sweet, greasy fair food vendors... bouncy toys... local bands.
It is an assault on the senses... as you walk you can hear the murmur(and sometimes roar) of a writhing, wriggling crowd.
You can smell the sticky sweet elephant ears as they are swiftly passed out to anxious patrons...
You can hear the local cover band playing Thriller in the background(that totally happened. i swear!)... and watch few brave souls who tried their very best(but failed) to emulate the moves...
This year you could see the kids caterpillar tunnel toy, where the kids go in the mouth and come out... the butt. Seriously. I am not kidding.
I wish that I could have captured all that. Instead I abstained from taking photos, because I knew that it wouldn't do the whole thing justice.I did, however, take photos of the fireworks! Which I will post tomorrow. Umm... today. When it isn't midnight.
Partly it is for teenagers to strut around pretending they don't care if no one notices them, but show by their demeanor that all they want is to be noticed. Partly it is for families to get together, relax, buy a glow necklace, and watch the fireworks together. Partly it is for people to congregate en masse.
Entirely, it is to celebrate our country and the freedoms that we have. It's to celebrate those who signed for us, so many years ago, the right for our lives to be ours.
I for one, am grateful for the amazing place I live. I pray for our country, and our leaders, that we can continue to be this great nation, and that we don't sway too far one way or the other and lose what was fought so hard to gain.
But for today... I am going to light a few sparklers, dance around the yard with my daughter, and be thankful for this amazing life I have, in this fantastic, free, country that I live in!
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