The 4th Is Coming...

What's Your Favorite Holiday?

Wow! This blogging thing is pretty cool. Thank you guys for the positive response. See, you inspired me to write again so soon!

So with the 4th of July coming I feel compelled to tell you that THIS IS MY FAVE HOLIDAY!!

I mean, what's not to love? 

I know, I know, some of you are thinking that your birthday is your favorite or Christmas. What about Christmas?! No. It's just not the best holiday. Sorry. *sad face

4th of July is about friends and family and the grill and the refreshing beverages that cool you down when the sun is burning hot. You can relax and enjoy time and not stress out about the cold, or whether folks like their presents or if you made every recipe you could think of for 30 people for Christmas dinner. 

Yes, Christmas is Jesus' birthday, but back in 1776, Jesus gave us America. So...BOOM, 4th of July it is! Thank you Jesus!

Anyway, the reason I love the 4th of July is for many reasons including nostalgia. I love that it gives people a reason to have summertime parties, get together in their swim suits, grab a cold beer, throw meat on the grill and socialize however seems fit for them. Go ahead, kick your shoes off, throw on some damn good music, sit in your favorite chair at your favorite place and just breathe in the greatness that America has to offer.

One particular 4th of July that I remember, a bunch of friends and I went to a lakehouse in PA and had the weekend of our lives. We piled two kegs of Budweiser in the back on my buddies Ford, took an extra special trip the grocery store to pile up on Ballpark hotdogs and chips (cuz we spent all our money on beer and fireworks), and headed to our destination. Our destination was a two story lakehouse about 50 yards uphill from the edge of the water. There was a little dock that extended maybe 10 yards out into the water. Surrounded by trees and privacy, that was our little piece of paradise for the weekend.

I remember we sat out on the back deck and drank beers, grilled dogs, and hit the beachball back and forth. That game (dont' let it hit the ground or drink) was so much fun and I think it made it even better that we didn't have a care in the world. 

Call us crazy and stupid, but we had a blast having firework battles. Yes, it's exactly what you think. We would shoot fireworks at each other. Sure, it was dangerous, but it was fun as hell and wouldn't you know it, we survived just fine. 

One fella that was with us (good dude) was having a bit of an attitude down by the lake. Encouraged by the amount of Budweiser we drank, we decided to shoot little bottle rockets at him for some fun. Don't worry, we weren't even getting close. He didn't think it was funny, but man, we sure did! We were rolling with every snap of the bottle rocket. Well, eventually we ran out of small ones and the bottle rockets started getting a little bigger (still missing), then a little bigger (still missing), until POP, we nailed him! Right in the arm! And he let out a yell that puckered our butts and he hit the ground! 

We took off running for him. He was screaming like we'd shot his damn arm off! When we reached him, we discovered that we had a direct hit right on his left arm below the main body of the shoulder muscle. 

Besides a little redness and black soot, he was just fine. But he was pissed! And rightly so. But, giving his condition was A ok,  we just thought it was the funniest thing since Richard Pryor!!

Everything turned out fine. He eventually got over it and joined us for some delicious burgers on the grill that night. We went all out on the burger condiments too. Spared no expense. Am I making you hungry? Good.

I should mention that our theme playlist for that weekend was Three Days Grace One-X. We just played it on repeat. Oh, and Panic at the Disco's I Write Sins Not Tragedies. I'm sure there was some country music and Eminem in there some place, but those two particular artists I remember clearly. See, I'm a multifaceted music lover. *wink Whenever I hear those two songs, I go right back there. Love how music does that.

Now obviously there were the beer games like flip cup, cornhole, and beerpong, but the activity I enjoyed the best was swimming in the lake. We swam a decent distance to a little island sitting out in the middle of the lake. We took a cooler with sandwich fixings (on a raft) and ate a nice picnic lunch right there. It was serene. It was peaceful. It is a great memory.

But of course, the peace didn't last too long. We swam back across the lake to the house and started in on the kegs again! 

Now at this point we had run low on fireworks, so there was one of us not partaking in beverages (my buddies girlfriend) because she didn't feel well. She drove a crew of us to the nearby fireworks stand were we proceeded to buy about $350 worth of fireworks of all types. We got them all! Red, white, and blue sprinklers, bottle rockets, and aerials. The works!

We got back to the house and waited until nightfall. Super excited for the show and well equipped, we all shuffled down to the edge of the lake where I proceeded to set up the first firework. It was a single aerial firework that I picked out of the bunch and proudly set up to be the start of an amazing display for America. No sooner did I light the firework and had back away, did I realize that I put the damn thing in upside down. As I concluded my thought, the cannon exploded on the ground and damn near sent us all tumbling over in surprise. 

We started to recover ourselves when somebody shouted, "The fireworks are on fire!" 

That sent us scrambling for the trees just as $350 worth of fireworks went off! Talk about a grand finale! Fortunately we all got out of the way without our asses catching fire, but let me tell you something, there is nothing like watching that many fireworks go off when you are hiding behind a tree as some of them whiz right passed you. HOLY Moley! They were going in every direction! Firing across the lake, up in the air, right at us sometimes, those fireworks were giving us a solid lesson in Karma. 

Finally, the excitement died down and fella we had shot with the bottle rocket walked right up to the other fella who had shot it at him and yells, "See! You shouldn't have shot me with that #choiceword firecracker!" He had us rolling once again!! We laughed all the way back up to the house where we continued the festivities without hesitation. 

We were crazier than hell back then, but you know, sometimes that's what makes great stories and memories that last forever. Sometimes you just gotta let go and live a little.

However, now I'm a safety conscious father so my craziness has decent limits these days. 

Happy 4th of July weekend to every American and I pray that we always have our freedom to create great memories for ourselves and our children! Feel free to share your memories in the comments.

Please don't forget to check out my song "4th of July" on iTunes and download it for your weekend! Music is how I put food on the table. And thank you!

Disclaimer: This is a story from the past. I do not condone drinking irresponsibly. Please practice sound firework safety and read the instructions before celebrating! Probably best to have a sober person placing your fireworks right side up! *wink

Love you guys! Thanks for the support! #FeelTheLove