From the phone calls, emails, and “how do you do’s” I take it that the majority of my ‘readers’ had a good, somewhat relaxing, and scrumptious 4th! Here’s to the red, white, and blue. (end required patriotic feelings here). Nah – I’m not going to go into a political thing here – had enough of that at the grown up table next to 3 fifty-something year old men the other day. Luckily we all were the basic idealist liberals/libertarians or whatever so there weren’t any fights going on – but we were lucky. Even I know that the cardinal sin to any party conversation is bringing up politics or religion.

I had a great 4th of July, though. I wasn’t expecting it to be good (as anyone who read my post the other day can suspect…) but I was pleasantly surprised and eternally grateful. I had a GLORIOUS time in the sun – and it was bright – and it was warm – but thank god not half as bad as it was inland. It was a nice bright get out your sunscreen before you burn 73 degrees by the beach and a hell on earth 108 back at home. Ridiculous. Being that we haven’t had rain here since Noah built the ark – there were cops supposedly patroling the beach waiting to confiscate fireworks that could potentially burn several homes. The threat of a 1000.00 fine didn’t stop the locals from giving us about 3-4 different firework shows, depending on which direction you looked.

The house was pretty close to the beach, so from the patio we could see just fine. I had no desire to go back down to the beach. I had already spent 4 hours prior jumping around in the sand and waves with my cousins, and walking about 3 miles for my daily cardio so I didn’t feel bad for eating the potato salad that was calling my name back at the house. In addition to tanning and chewing large amounts of sand with my pretzels, I also was a guest judge of several castle building contests. I kept looking at my youngest cousin (who is 12) like, “what is wrong with you and your friends? Why don’t you build a castle like the other children?” but she was too busy trying to fill out her bikini top. She and her 2 buddies have officially entered that age – the age where they are no longer sweet and covered in babyfat – but little pre-teen-adonnas one and all. *sigh* I should have built a castle my own damn self… hmph! (or at least got someone to bury me in some sand so only my head and toes peeked out).

The beach was busy – but it wasn’t half as crowded as some of the other more populated (and quite frankly NASTIER) beaches. Thank goodness. But there was the sound of the waves – and almost like punctuation, the sound of children’s screams. I don’t know what it is about waves that make children (and some adults, even) scream – but they are successful in illiciting at least 50 screams per minute or so every time the huge waves came crashing on the shore.

I love watching people at the beach. I love watching girls walk from one end to the other in the skimpiest of bikinis and watch all the men sitting there with their wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc. Sunglasses shield your eyes, boys, but when your whole HEAD TURNS to watch a girl pass – you’re not really fooling anyone, ya know? I noticed something though on that beach. No matter how a person physically looked (because there were some women who were pretty damn brave to wear a bikini let me tell you) – if a woman carried herself with confidence and an almost superior type of attitude, all eyes (even women’s) were on her. If a girl walked by and was covering up her body (even if she had the fiercest body ever!) people acted embarrassed for her and didn’t even look twice at her with any sort of longing or whatever. It was interesting. I have no idea how I walk on the beach, by the way. The other day I walked with shorts on and a bikini top. I’m modest but I guess I like to give a little tease every now and again.

So after the beach we headed back to the house to eat – and like I hinted at earlier (is that alluded or ELUDED, I wonder?), I ended up at a table of 3 men who were about 50 or so. And I’m not complaining at all. Because I felt EXTREMELY comfortable. We talked about music, and lyrics, and Stevie N., and The Beatles – and a bit about politics, Woodstock, and MLK Jr, too. I just leaned my head against my hands and watched their expressions while they talked. I laughed alot – asked a few questions – and as the day started to cool off I just felt something deep inside of me. I was content. I had enough to eat but was not stuffed – I was warm – but not too hot. I was entertained, but not overly stimulated. I was just absolutely at that moment in time CONTENT. I wanted for absolutely nothing. I had everything that I needed and I think that has to be the first time I have ever ever felt that way. It was glorious.

The fireworks that nite were fantabulous – and long. Many families joined together and had a sort of firework you got served sort of thing going on. Everyone wanted to out do each other and I’m sure over 1000.00 dollars was spent on the chance to be crowned the Firework King of 2007. They weren’t afraid of a 1000.00 fine, that is for sure. Even when we packed up to leave at about 10:00PM – fireworks were still booming behind us – and they had started at 8:00PM. But I sat there in the front seat of the car on our way home and held onto the sun, the waves, the screams, the conversations, the music, the scenery and even the crackles of the fireworks I love the best. I remember how that felt that moment I was content. It’s like satisfied – only it lasts longer. It’s like the afterglow you feel after a big orgasm. It’s like looking at the best redesign for your site that your bff did for you and wondering if she just somehow tapped into your brain to bring everything you ever wanted to “paper”. It’s like finishing a workout – and for a moment enjoying the sweat collect in the small of your back and your heart beating wildly against your chest. It’s like coming home to several appointments, and well wishes and calls asking how your day was.

I’m so glad I went.

There are some holidays that make me nostalgic much more than others. I know that the typical holiday that would bring tears to eyes and cause people to break out the ole family albums and weep for yester-years would be Christmas – but Christmas has never been my favorite holiday. Perhaps it’s the crowds that you have to fight thru – and the presents you have to figure out to buy for people – and trying not to look too disappointed when your grand mother gives you another pair of home made mittens (with strings attached to them so you don’t lose them – which was cute when you were 5 – but just plain obnoxious at age 15…). It could be that the holiday just isn’t any fun when you’re still too small for the grown up table and too old for the kiddie table and are forced to cut up the ham for your nieces and nephews at the not even stable card table that inevitably falls over at some point of the festivities. Nah – Christmas isn’t my most favorite of holidays – even though Silent Night sung in my father’s church in 4 part harmony over candle light does make up for everything I mentioned before (yes, even Grammy’s mittens).

The holiday that makes me the most homesick for MN has to be The 4th of July. Hands down. With a big huge slice of watermelon on the side. I LOVE the 4th. I love everything about it – even the loud fireworks and the smell of hair burning when it gets a bit too close to the sparklers.

At the lakes when I was younger, I would wake up as early as I could and just about jump out of my skin for the day to begin. EVERYONE came to our house for the holiday: Grandparents, Cousins, Aunts, and neighbors who knew that we knew how to throw a big party. When the cars were parked up and down the drive way and spilled onto our lawn – the kids would gather and change into our swimsuits. We would spend the rest of the day and evening in them, eating watermelon and corn on the cob and jumping into the lake to “wash off” afterwards. There would be waterskiing and “tubing” and swimming out to the raft that sat waiting for us in the middle of the lake. I have no idea what the grown ups would do – they wouldn’t even really watch us very much until we needed them to pull us in the speed boat and then only if my brothers, who were old enough to do it on their own, were otherwise occupied (smoking pot in the treehouse, sneaking beers from the cooler, or sneaking peeks at the always present gorgeous friend one of the cousins brought along for the holiday).

This 4th will be spent at a body of water – but nothing like the lake. I am not going to get into a whining type of fit here – but I just have to say a few things: The ocean is nothing like a lake. Oceans make waves that are angry. The waves crash up on the shore and deposit things on the sand while taking a bit of sand and debris back with it. The ocean – at least here in Southern California – is dirty, and having a mouthful of the ocean and accidentally swallowing a few cup fulls, could result in a few days of paranoia of what type of disease you’ve infected your body with. I’ve never seen a person swim in an ocean in southern California. I’ve seen people run into the ocean and just as quickly run back out again – but I haven’t seen a person actually swim and submerge themselves in it…at least not on purpose. No matter how many people pee in a lake the water is still clear. And we drink it often. Saves the trip up the steps to get a soda is our motto. The fish in the lakes in Northern MN are safe to eat and you can actually figure out what type of fish it is. Sunfish. Trout. Bullheads. I once was at the Santa Monica Pier and saw someone fishing. I waited while the fisherman and his son pulled and tugged and reeled in their catch. When they had finally succeeded in pulling their “catch” from the ocean’s depth – I gasped. I’m serious. I gasped. And then I said, “What is that?” and the fisherman answered me. He said, with this look of fear on his face, “I don’t know.” It seemed to be living, so it wasn’t a dead body, old shoe, or waste or anything like that. But it was some type of ocean creature that one could not eat - and I wondered how in the hell he was going to take it off his hook. Whatever “bait” he used, I hope he got rid of it. A simple worm in the lakes of MN would have yielded a fish big enough to feed a … you know what? Let me stop. Let me just stop.

So tomorrow my family and I will be going to a beach house about 10 feet away from the ocean. If that. It reached 108 today and at the beach it will be closer to 70. The sand will be hot – but the mist generated by those somewhat angry waves will make everything comfortable. The family that has invited us will have lots of delicious food like corn on the cob and watermelon and chicken and every flavor of chip imaginable. We’ll probably fight with the little kids over who gets to sit in the hot tub next, and I’ll have the seasonal fight with Mr. K who always threatens to pull me into the ocean while sand finds its way into orfices it has no business even seeing. I think I’ll bring along a book – or two, my journal and of course my ipod and all these things will stay in my beach bag (along with the sunscreen I wished I had pulled out) the entire time. I’ll probably bring along guitar hero which is like the best game E-V-E-R and we’ll wrap up the evening by playing Charades (which is a very competitive game among people who feel they should have been actors and actresses) and we’ll fall asleep on the drive back (but hopefully not the person who is driving) after 10 or more hours soaking up the sun and the ocean breeze. It isn’t quite like memories from growing up – but it comes mighty close and beats sitting inland gasping as the dry heat sucks up every bit of energy and compassion you have.

I hope that everyone enjoys their 4th – in whatever way you decide to celebrate it. Try not to get annoyed at the firecrackers that go off on your street long after midnight – and eat a nice piece of juicy watermelon and think of me. If you can. Let the juice just run down your hand and over your mouth until you are sticky and then either jump in a pool, lake, ocean, or shower to clean off. But more important than any traditions you may partake in – be safe. Be safe and be careful and return back home rested, tanned, and … well, horny. I’ll be back either late July 4th, or by the 5th. Look for me.