Celebrating the 4th

The 4th of July has quickly become one of my favorite holidays. Growing up, the grilling holidays (4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day) were not big holidays for my family. We went to some barbecues. I think my great uncle's huge barbecue bash was one of these holidays. But there were many that just passed as nothing more than a day off. I didn't think much of it until I got older and realized there were certain friends I couldn't call on these days because they would be at a barbecue.

Moving to Chicago, I've met some new friends who grew up in these families have decided to carry on the tradition of their parents'. Through them, I've learned why people love celebrating these holidays. It's a great time to get together with people whom you may not have seen since the last grilling holiday and drink copious amounts of beer (but spread throughout the day so no one need get trashed unless one so desires) and play games that you wouldn't consider playing otherwise like volleyball or cornholing (the less vulgar term would be bags).

But of these holidays, Chicago doesn't celebrate any of them like the 4th. And I'm not sure any city celebrates the 4th like Chicago does.

I was only visiting Chicago with thoughts of moving here when I first experienced it. And the amazing thing about it was I wasn't even a participant. That's the thing: Independence Day in Chicago will find you. You want to escape, you leave the city.

I was staying with my friend Carol. It was about 104 degrees outside and even warmer inside. She didn't have any plans and therefore I didn't either, so we figured we'd watch a movie. Since neither of us had seen The Piano, we decided that Independence Day would be the perfect day for viewing it. So there we were, sitting on the floor (it was too hot to sit on the couch), sweating from the exertion of simple respiration, watching The Piano. We began the movie around 4. About 5, the fireworks started.

Now when I went home after my visit, I swore to a friend that the official, city-sponsored fireworks lasted from 5 - 11 p.m. She didn't believe me and was right to not. However, she had not been there. The city fireworks actually happen on the 3rd. I guess the entire city decides to pick up the slack.

Seriously, if you have PTSD, don't come to Chicago. This 4th I went to a beach in Rogers Park, the northern most neighborhood of the city. Right north of it is Evanston whose fireworks we decided we'd catch from there. But who needs fireworks from miles away when you can be in the midst of them?

I looked up Illinois's fireworks laws yesterday. You can play with sparklers and and what not. But these are illegal: Firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, roman candles, and bombs. I saw some sparklers, but I think I was more distracted by the firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, roman candles and bombs. Where were the police? Everywhere, but I think it's pretty hard to crack down when the entire city is exploding.

I went to look for a fountain and felt like I was in a war zone. There were explosions all around us. Far to the north and far to the south. The only reason they weren't to the east is that there's a big lake there. Even then, someone decided to fire skyrockets at a lower angle toward the water.

And we're not talking just rinky-dink skyrockets that make more noise than they do anything else. At least two groups of people had spent God knows how much money on professional grade fireworks. The kind that explode into a color and then become mini sparklers. Ones with monstrous diameters. And they were only firing them 50 yards away. It was a little scary considering that some of the color didn't die before they hit the ground.

We even had a hard time telling when the Evanston fireworks began because someone else further up the coast had decided to buy professional fireworks as well. But Evanston's are beautiful and perhaps the best fireworks I've seen.

While on the beach, in between singing any patriotic songs we could think of, I got to talking with my friend Rick about Independence Day. He said it was a holiday that really made him look back over the year, much more than New Year's. I'd have to say I agree. New Year's carries with it pressure to end the year with a bang. Independence Day? You've got all summer, why not just enjoy what you've got right now.