July 4, 2010

INDEPENDENCE DAY. I celebrate this day for the courage, vision, determination, power, resolve, and fortitude it took my ancestors to stand at the helm of their own lives, to set their own courses, and to manifest that which their hearts held the blueprints for. Bless us all, every one of us, for our efforts, triumphs, and flops, and let freedom ring for the right to choose, the right to change, the right to be!

I'm thinking of my Grandma Barr, who, during the Depression, divorced her drunk, unfaithful husband, moved her four kids to Winslow, AZ, bought the closed out bank building on the corner, and successfully turned it into the Double Dip Ice Cream Parlor. What guts! It's no wonder that eating ice cream is almost an act of homage for me.

Here in Warsaw, IN, Independence Day was celebrated on Saturday. So last night, my hosts drove me into town for dinner out. Afterwards, I was chauffeured around town to sight-see. Warsaw is about the size of Corvallis, and has five beautiful public lakes to boast about. We drove around the lakes, watching the locals arrange their blankets and chairs and set up their late-night picnics for the fireworks over the water. We parked in a quaint neighborhood by a channel leading to the lake and sat in the car with the windows down to wait for the fireworks. At 10pm, they exploded and bloomed behind the trees and illuminated Victorian roof lines. Some of the fireworks made it well above the trees, and we jumped out of the car, gasping and oooohing. On the way home, I fell asleep in the back seat with Jubilee,  just like a little kid, with my head lolling about, lulled by the "grownup" talk in the front. 


Today was the first day in I don't know when that I actually had exactly NOTHING to do. It was a complete day off of everything. So I walked around the lake many times, soaking in the aroma of mowed grass, goose droppings, cottonwood trees, spent fireworks. It was very warm and humid, but the silky-soft breeze was continuous, tickly and delicate. Rain clouds continued to mount over the horizon, promising a late night, cooling shower! My host, Gordon, graciously took me on a tour of his farms, and I got to take my first ride in a combine! Perching in the glass enclosure, high above the wheat, watching it being plowed out from beneath me was a thrill and just a tad scary at first. I munched a small handful of wheat kernels, savoring the nutty flavor, and feeling very "grass rooty" out there in the hot sun with a bazillion Wheaties in the making.