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Elking It for Independence Day
The smell of burnt fuses. The atmosphere of danger. Explosives and our celebration of Independence. The personification of rebellion and success. To some, even excess. This year I’m holding my wallet a little closer. My apologies to all of the fireworks vendors and suppliers. I just can’t see $5 bills going bang in my yard this year or watching as $15 and $20 mortar rounds explode a hundred feet above my home. 
This year my family opted to watch someone else burn money. I find the community fireworks display a comfortable compromise of conscience. I have earned my conservative stance on fireworks from too many weekends at the parents’ lake house. Every year someone gets a small burn and we have luckily escaped the misfired Roman candle or mortar round. A chair will be toppled or it isn’t a successful $500-plus night. When the rest of the property owners around a lake do the same the collective show is an all night extravaganza of sitting on the lake on a pontoon boat or ten tied together watching the sky. The grand finale and the anticipation of youthful looks of excitement adorn the entire crowd.
 This year no burns. More daytime activity - swimming, fishing, hiding in the air conditioned lounge. Coolers and neighbors. Ice and lots of water. A few lounge chairs arranged in the back. The temptation to go camp out for the night to just claim a good spot. (I’m never really that organized to accomplish it.) Some guests had to park at Wal-Mart just to get in. On arrival we assisted with a small funnel cake emergency. Never did get called up for the parking security tour. I offered three times throughout the day but was declined on each occasion. Much to my relief actually, I was enjoying my kids so much. My 13-year-old son, Perry was on a funnel cake mission. I think he managed five cakes over the day. Plus several hours of pool time. I can’t hear out of my left ear today, from the pool, not the rockets. The band selected for the event was GTO, a well-known regional group of excellent musicians and singers. They were a comfortable and talented band to watch and hear. This was certainly not their first rodeo and from covers to originals they belted out a full day’s worth of entertainment. I guess a good reporter would have spoken to the band …. (Oops, I wasn’t working I was hanging.) 
The Elks’ large pavilion is a party ready and waiting, from the bar areas to the ample electrical outlets and circuits. The multiple kitchens in the lodge building made funnel cake batter and food preparation a snap, a bit of a walk back but still worth the efficacy. The children’s playground off to the side was muddy from the rain we had in the morning. Most kids didn’t seem to mind much and were playing joyfully on the swing and slide. Multiple families brought out their ten foot square tents, invited friends and family and had their own public yet private party. Families would wave and exchange hello’s as they walked to and from the multitude of attractions and open spaces of the Elks 27+ acres. The lake was a little muddy from the rain but worked still as a giant mirror of the beautiful tree-lined hillsides surrounding it. (Ok, we’ll ignore the giant pile of rocks on one side. Just don’t look that way. ) With the age of the lodge in the thirties and approaching forties some members would remove and rebuild. Perhaps even move to large grounds and do it again. The activity of the Elks lodge has increased. The lodge is moving rapidly in to the future of a large tent of acceptance and continued heavy investment to the community and Veterans. The charm of the ranch style lodge spreading across the hill is a flash back to the heyday of activities. The lodge is undergoing a lot of changes, from a newly remodeled bar area to the fabulous pool table covers that were installed last year. The boy scouts are active and the Elk’s pavilions are rented out.
Deborah Sleeper, my significant other, partner, council and wife is awarded fastest move from the area when the first rocket exploded across the four month old ear drum of my youngest. She deftly barreled into the lodge with hands over baby ears. Our highly prized seating had suddenly become a threat to the hearing of our child. Ok, perhaps a little over the top drama there. We are talking about my kid! The highly prized seating was the deck that had been recently sealed and cleaned up. Just outside of the pool table room and off the back of the bar area, it directly faces the ball field that was used for this year’s firework show. My teenage son said, “This is the best fireworks show I have ever seen, it is awesome!”
The show was impressive, with multiple grand finale feelings. I think we thought it was over three times before it actually was. The sky had a backdrop of smoke as the explosions painted new and fresh artwork across the sky. Deep in three dimensional reality, it was physical as well as a spectacle. My mind began to turn. The employees of the fire department at the ready, the vendors who sold the fireworks, the technicians that ignited them. There was good community based stimulus right there in front of me. Even in the hardest of times would we even want to deny ourselves the celebration of our country’s independence? Is not all economic activity fuel for the economy that reflects it?
Happy birthday America, from majestic purple mountain to misty Ozark foothills, and sea to shining sea. Thanks for being American with me.
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