4th of July, as told by me

By Michelle Madsen

 

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays (right behind you, Christmas). It’s probably because I have an unusually profound fascination with fireworks. But I’ll obsess over that later.

The day didn’t start exactly how I had planned. My family and I opted to clean the house for the large number of friends we expected later in the day, so we waited to go downtown until after the parade. I guess we waited a little too long because we could not find parking. You see, the street fair is a BIG thing. We figured we’d spend some time browsing the work of talented local artisans, but it just didn’t work out. It did make me happy to see so many people there, though.

A photo posted by Hayden Berger (@vccaphoto) on Jul 5, 2015 at 1:14pm PDT

At around 4pm, my sister’s many friends arrived. I started a competitive game of badminton with my two friends, which resulted in constant trips on top of the roof to retrieve the birdie. Let’s just say that laughs were had and friends were lovingly mocked. What else would I do after my friend hastily kicks her leg out like she’s going to kick the birdie?   The day continued with a few rounds of Catch Phrase, followed by some lunatic blowing bubbles. Oh wait, that was me. It was like my childhood in a bottle, okay? I couldn’t resist sweeping the oversized wands back and forth while filling my driveway with a ridiculous number of soapy circles that left as quickly as I could crank them out.   When the evening was upon us, we broke out the poppers and Pop-its (there’s a difference, I swear). Soon our driveway was covered in strands of crepe paper and tiny pebbles.  Caution: Keep your shoes on! I proceeded to put the streamers in my friend’s poofy hair, because that’s what I do.  

A photo posted by David Conk (@davidsdelectables) on Jul 7, 2015 at 10:03am PDT

Lastly, the FIREWORKS. I love them. I can’t get enough of them. The science behind them, the colors, the sound…I could watch them for hours. They’re never the same. One minute I’m admiring a shower of silver sparks and the next thing I know, there’s a tiny red rocket racing to the sky that explodes into something completely different and equally beautiful.

Since I live close to Ventura College, I get this view for free. Starting last year, my friends and I have climbed onto my roof and enjoyed the show from there. My sister and her friends took pictures, and one of my good friends sat beside me posting stories on Snapchat to grace the Smartphone world for the next 24 hours.

When the finale came, it was obvious. It’s a little different every year, but this year it was a continuous sequence of multicolored fireworks, one after another until the sky was overwhelmed with color. You know the show was something else when you can hear car alarms going off throughout the neighborhood and people cheering like crazy.