Saturday July 4, 2009

Nancy, Tasha, Ms P and I slept in this 4th of July morning. We got dressed and left the house at 0800 and walked over to the 75th Hollyhock Lane Parade. The parade was great. They had fire trucks, police cars, antique cars, decorated floats made by the local neighbors, boy scouts, cub scouts, church groups, lots of decorated bikes, politicians and the neighborhood marching band. After the parade a ceremony is held in the backyard of a neighborhood resident. You reach the backyard by walking through an alley. As always the place was packed.

After the parade, we walked over to the Brandywine for breakfast. The place was packed. When we got home Tasha and I fell asleep in our chairs while reading the newspaper. This afternoon Nancy went shopping and Tasha and I loaded up our bikes and headed to Montcalm County and the Heartland Bike Trail. We rode 25 miles. It was a great day for a ride and we saw 5 deer, 25 chipmunks and 1 ground hog. We were surprised that the trail was not busy.

For dinner Nancy grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. She also fixed corn on the cob. It was a great 4th of July dinner. Nancy and Tasha are now watching a James Bond movie.

When I was a boy we spent 4th of July at my Grandparents farm. We had a picnic with the entire family present. In the afternoon we played horse shoes and my uncles would make ice cream. It was a great family day.

When Nancy and I were first married and living in Redwood City, CA we spent our first 4th helping the Newcomer's Club make a float for the parade. Nancy, Sasha and I sat on a curb and watched the parade. I remember that I had not seen so many horses in a parade. Sasha was fascinated by the horses.

July 4, 1927 with Grandmother Hughes in London. Grandmother Hughes wrote: "went downtown in morning. Left at 2:30 PM for Stratford, big pageant on there. Went to see Mrs. Townsend. The girls took us to see Ann Hathway's cottage". Grandmother Hughes made no mention that this was the 4th of July.

Ossineke, Mi this date in 1938. GG wrote: we went to McReals for picnic dinner. We drove west from Scott's, 2 miles, to end of road and past farm, Hadds, then 2 miles north where they kept bus. GG entry does not make much sense. Of course he probably never thought that 71 years later his great grandson would be reading his diary.