Cushing's Family

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy July 4th!

Long may she wave.

Tonight Jess & I will go out to my sister, Sue’s house to watch the fireworks. She lives right outside of town so we have a good view from her front porch. We usually set off our own fireworks while watching the public display. She is outside the city limits so it’s legal to use them at her house. Some years a lot of the family shows up and some years it’s just a few of us. I think a couple of years ago there was just Sue & I.

I was thinking about what July 4th was like when we were kids. I don’t remember ever going to a public fireworks display. My older brother, Sam, usually orchestrated one. I think what he liked the most was using firecrackers to blow cans into the air. He spent a lot of time getting everything set up just so and then lighting the fuse. It seems he spent a lot of time doing that in the driveway.

Dad seemed to usually be in the field. I remember some years Mom would have hotdogs, chips and pop for lunch. Talk about a treat! I remember eating on the front porch at least once. That seemed pretty cool.

I was still playing with Shan’s camera today. After we took Dad to lunch I took a picture across the road from his house. He has asked me to several times. I wanted to wait until the pasture was green and then I kept forgetting to take a photo. This is pretty much what he would see if he walked out his front door.

I think he wants the photo because he misses seeing this view. He doesn’t leave his house often these days. Some things are just harder when you’re ninety.

My sister, Elsie, just lives a half mile from Dad. We stopped there on the way home. Her daughter, Manda and her family are there for a few days. Jeff & Jordan were not there at the moment but Isabella was. She made a great (and willing) subject.