It was such a joy to see my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter, Anya, watch fireworks in Wakefield, MA for the first time. Her face lit up in the darkness as the sparkles exploded across the sky. The last mass of color filled the sky along with lightning of pending rain showers. We quickly packed our chairs and reached the car just as the deluge of rain poured down.
We watched a “horribles” parade in the community of Salem Willows. Diane, a friend of Deb (Anya’s Grandma), was so nice to invite us to chair space in front of her home where the parade moseys by. I took up Diane’s offer to take a brief walk through her back yard flower garden. What a charming experience. There were flowers of many types artfully grown with a frog pond full of water lilies.
The parade that soon came down the street was not like any parade you would recall with bands wearing crisp uniforms, marching and playing in lock step. In this parade there was one band, mostly family members with some of the drummers pounding on bright orange paint buckets as the clarinets blared away to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The floats were walking groups of people expounding the recent political woes that captured headlines in the news. Elizabeth Warren, running for MA Senator this year and claiming to be part Cherokee Indian, was a prime target for neighbors depicted as Indians matched in protest to her claim. Jerry Sandusky, recently convicted of child abuse, was satirized in two separate floats. Sad tale abruptly brought to mind in these depictions.
The parade was brief and candy was plentiful as handfuls were thrown Anya’s way as she waited on her Daddy’s lap dressed in the 4th of July finest.
We walked a couple of blocks along the ocean back to Deb and Mike’s home for a 4th of July lunch. Oliver, their peppy white Pekinese was happy to see us. Deb’s yard was filled with a delight of perennials eager to show their color.