Our neighborhood is partying down this weekend. There is red, white and blue bunting everywhere. Cars are zipping in and out of the neighborhood more frequently than usual.
Tonight there is a dinner at the barn next door to raise money for a neighborhood conservation project. We have been getting emailed invitations to the event all week and they make me laugh every time. First, the admission fee is broken down into categories: adult, children under 11 and “nursing babies free.” Which seems a bit invasive, unseemly or creepy to me.
The most enigmatic part of the invitation that says “Live Sounding Zydeco Music!” I can’t imagine what makes music “live sounding.” Is it played by zombies? I certainly hope so. Because we’ll be able to watch all the action from our back porch. I just hope the fence holds. Maybe I should study this website carefully before nightfall.
Tomorrow is our annual Fourth of July Party. AJ and I will be heading down to the riverfront this afternoon to help decorate. The party is going to be bigger than usual this year, because they’re holding a reunion of those who grew up in the neighborhood from the 1960s through 80s. It should be quite a scene. There will be carnival games and a band and a lot of food. Mr. Spy and I are selling tickets tomorrow evening, a rare show of solidarity in volunteerism. If past experience is any indication, there should be plenty of blog fodder. AJ is excited about the party, although I haven’t yet heard if he plans to decorate his bike for the parade that always starts the event. This year, the parade will also be part of a dedication ceremony for a bridge, which was recently completed. One of the men who helped build the first phase of the bridge was killed a couple of years ago in a plane crash. It will be named after him.
The weather is marginally cooler today but much less humid. By comparison it seems quite tolerable. A breeze blew in last night while we were watching AJ’s baseball game and discussing the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. After the game, we sat on the terrace of the bar by the train station while AJ ate a hot dog and Mr. Spy and I drank beer with his brother, who’d come to watch. It was a nice night to sit outside. We came home dusty and sweaty, but strangely refreshed.
There was a good sized class at the pool this morning. Everyone is talking about the parties, complaining about the potential crowds and parking issues, worrying that there won’t be enough food and that it will rain and that high water in the river, which is at flood stage, will cancel the water ski show before we can figure out who is performing in it. No one but me, it seems, has thought to worry about zombies. We’ll see who has the last laugh.
June 26, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I love how you’ve said “enigmatic” instead of “silly” about the live-sounding zydeco music.
I just listened to zombie-sounding audio clip of the word “lagniappe.” lan-YAP. LAN-YAP. It was not live-sounding.
June 26, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Okay, I know some people don’t celebrate holidays on the day; the next town over they go trick-or-treating on nights besides Oct. 31 and expect folks to keep up. But how can you celebrate a holiday that we call by the name of the date on any other date? It’s the FOURTH OF JULY! Not the whateverith of June!
June 26, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I was wondering the same thing. “Oh, the Fourth of July is such a busy day, let’s celebrate the Twenty-Seventh of June instead!” How do you get into the festivities? And what do you do on the 4th?
June 26, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I wondered that as well but figured it was one of those quirky local things. I am looking forward to our own quirky non-motorized 4th parade with the synchronized lawn chair brigade and the awesome book sale. Followed by pool party at the home of Dusty’s BFF.
June 26, 2009 at 3:21 pm
A number of people have complained about the date, so you are not alone in wondering. But because so many people (the Spy family included) have family obligations on the 4th of July, the party is always held on the Saturday before it. It just happens to be unusually early this year. But one thing that really bugs me is that none of the local fireworks are on the 4th. The larger town that surrounds us had them last week as part of the closing ceremonies of the carnival, as they do every year. We always have ours the Saturday before the 4th as part of the party. And the village across the river has them a week or so afterwards. The 4th is mighty quiet, except for the local firecrackers set off by the bad boys across the street. Our 4th of July party is more like a giant block party. It starts with an all-ages softball tournament followed by a kids parade on bikes and horses and golf carts and wagons. Around 2:00 the games and food and drink start. When everyone’s thoroughly plotzed, they bring in a dance band by the river, after which there are fireworks, more dancing and a bonfire. We never make it past the fireworks. On the Fourth itself, Mr. Spy’s family always has a party which is much less organized and more fun, at least for the grownups. There’s softball there too, but they play the real Chicago kind with the giant ball and no gloves. It has been suggested that the neighborhood change the name of the party, seeing as it’s named after a day on which the party will never fall, but no one seems to care enough to do more than complain.