34 thoughts on “HAPPY 4th OF JULY 2020!

  1. wolf

    Best wishes for this from Europe too!
    Don’t forget “distancing” etc, from what I’m reading the Covid situation in the USA is bad enough already.
    I also have fond memories (maybe I’ve written about this already?):
    Many years ago there there were the soccer world games in June 2006 in Germany. I was alone, my first wife had died from cancer and I hadn’t met by new wife yet. So as usual I went one afternoon into my favourite bar – there was no one else sitting on the terrasse though it was really warm …
    I looked in and saw all my friends watching soccer on the big tv screen, actually a projector.
    So I thought wtf and after just one pint went for a walk through the empty city streets. At my favourite last minute travel agency where I’ve booked all of my holidays to the USA (often very cheap flights) I saw an offer for Ft Myers Beach, an apartment at an unbeatable price – even for just one person.
    So the next day I took a ride to Düsseldorf and in the following morning the flight.
    I hadn’t realised that I’d be in Ft myers still on July Fourth so it came as a nice surprise to walk along the beach and see the official Fireworks on the pier and also a lot of smaller private fireworks.
    Happy memories!
    Take care!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, the coronavirus is spreading because many Americans refuse to wear masks and practice social distancing. Part of this is due to Trump who insists the coronavirus will “just go away.”

      Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Same to you, George, though frankly, other than surviving the year to date, I find very little to celebrate this year.

    Sounds nice, Wolf. New York has (not this year, but generally) the big fireworks display sponsored by Macy’s. Jackie is much bigger on fireworks than I am. We took friends from St. Louis to see them one year. First we went to Yankee Stadium to see an exciting game (the Yankees won), then to Midtown for delicious food at Virgil’s BBQ on 44th Street, then downtown and to the FDR Drive, which was closed to cars so people could see the fireworks closer up. But we far more enjoyed smaller, more intimate fireworks displays – visiting friends in Ohio and my parents in California.

    We’ve spent the 4th in London in 1972, and one year in Edinburgh, where it was still light out at 10:30 at night in early July. Needless to say, no fireworks there.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, my favorite 4th of July was in 1976 when I watched the amazing fireworks display over the Capital building in Madison, Wisconsin from my apartment window. They went all-out for the Bicentennial!

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  3. Deb

    Happy 4th to all! Our menu: beef ribs, hamburgers (well, cheeseburgers actually), guacamole, and watermelon. I’ve been hearing fireworks going off all night…I suppose it will be ongoing today and into the night. Stay safe everyone!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Deb, we’ve decided to go with that traditional Kelley 4th of July entree: spaghetti and meatballs! We also have watermelon, cantaloupe, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries for Sangria.

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      1. Jeff Meyerson

        Since the traditional Chinese food isn’t available (just kidding, but our local place is closed), we’re going with a Jackie/George favorite – pizza. We have plenty of fruit and have apple cake (Jackie prefers it to pie, sometimes) for dessert.

      2. george Post author

        Jeff, we considered pizza. But Diane picked up a pizza earlier in the week when she was running errands so we decided to go with spaghetti and meatballs. Diane loves apple cake and makes one when the kids come home.

  4. Patti Abbott

    Have a happy one. I celebrated yesterday by going to my son’s new tennis and swimming club for dinner. Social distancing was good–we were the only ones in the restaurant. But we were early because we all wanted to get back and watch Hamilton before it was too late. Kevin made the tennis team, which his parents were more pleased about than he was. In the nineties here all week, hard to want to play tennis at two pm..

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  5. wolf

    Just remembered:
    A really good show with fireworks accompanied by laser and music we had in Orlando at Disneyworld – more than 20 years ago.
    Do they still do it?
    My wife had promised the granddaughter that we’d take her to Florida if she was really good in English – and she worked hard on it. 🙂

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, Disney properties are closed down. When we visited DISNEYWORLD about 20 years ago, they put on a fireworks and laser show every night.

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      1. wolf

        George, so we might have met even!
        Did you also have a beer in the german/Bavarian pavillon?
        Or choose a Mmargarita from Mexico?

      2. george Post author

        Wolf, just about every time we visited DISNEYWORLD, the temperatures were soaring. I just drank a lot of water to stay hydrated.

      3. wolf

        Well, since I’m a Schwab – they are known in Germany for always trying to save money – I went to the USA on holiday just off season, Florida usually in October/November, New York or San Francisco in March, Texas in May, the Southeast coast in April …
        So I always got tickets at a nice price and didn’t have to book hotels/motels in advance. Really fantastic!

      4. george Post author

        Wolf, we bought Disney packages through the American Automobile Association (AAA) which made the vacations affordable.

  6. Jerry House

    A very happy Fourth to all the Kelley firecrackers!

    Past celebrations included family and friends get-togethers, cook-outs, parades, community fairs, and fireworks — often followed by a good nap. For the past several years, Jessie has rented a pavilion at a state park for the family holiday, but that was cancelled months ago. This year for the Fourth it’s Kitty, me, the damncat, and Netflix. While we’re missing out on other activities, we don’t mind this at all.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jerry, Happy 4th to you and your family! Netflix is part of my daily plan for Independence Day, too. Diane is watering our lawn and shrubs. The weatherguessers claim we won’t have a drop of rain for at least a week! A drought on top of a pandemic! What’s next, a plague of locusts?

      Reply
      1. Jeff Meyerson

        We’ve had thunderstorms a couple of days recently, but it is hit and miss. When they showed a reporter at Citi Field in Queens, it was a torrential downpour, but we had nothing. But we did get a lighter thunderstorm last night (the one on Wednesday was a lot heavier and gave me a free car wash). They are predicting 90 much of the week (today is the “cool” day at 84, the normal high for July 4 in New York), with humidity and thunderstorms starting Tuesday. Like George, we can definitely use more rain.

      2. george Post author

        Jeff, we could use some rain…and some cool weather. We’re facing five straight days of 90-degree temps this week. Our normal high for this time of year is 80 degrees.

  7. Jeff Meyerson

    TCM is running 1776 (our usual July 4th movie), YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, and THE MUSIC MAN today. We’re recording them all (easier than digging out the DVDs).

    Reply
  8. Jeff Meyerson

    Just checked my At-A-Glance books for the last 20 years or so, and most years we’ve had barbecue on the 4th. As often as possible, we got tickets for a Yankees game in the Bronx, then took the subway to Times Square and ate dinner at Virgil’s BBQ. A few times we saw a Broadway show and ate there. In more recently years we ate at a couple of different barbecue places in Brooklyn (one in the neighborhood, one downtown), but both have closed now. Sad.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, now that Broadway is closed until 2021, the SHAW Festival has cancelled their season. Our musicals package at Shea’s Performing Arts Center has been “postponed.”

      Reply
  9. maggie mason

    I’m not a fan of fireworks. They’re pretty, but scary to pets and bad for air quality. I know, curmudgeon.

    I NEVER go anywhere on the 4th. My mom died on the fourth, another relative was killed in a car wreck, and one of my fav. cousins, who worked for the railroad, was run over by a train (lucky a dr. was at a ballfield near by). He was a conductor and required to do something out of his job classification on the train tracks. A stantion that was supposed to be immovable wasn’t, and somehow flipped him under the train. My uncle and his brothers took some witnesses (their priest for one) and took pictures of the scene immediately. Surprise that within a day or so, the scene had changed. Uncle’s action cost the RR plenty (amount never disclosed). He lost one leg, but the next year was coaching his son’s little league team. I was back from my walk at 615 today, and except for pulling weeds if it doesn’t get too hot, I’m not leaving the house.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Maggie, I’m with you on fireworks. Most of the localities around here have cancelled them, but every night lately people fire off fireworks. Was this the way Stimulus Checks were supposed to be spent?

      Reply
  10. Rick Robinson

    Happy 4th, George and all, hope you have a nice day. Supposed to be 75 today, overcast in AM, sunny rest of day. I sure wouldn’t be happy in those high temps and humidity, George and Jeff.

    We had pot roast yesterday, and will have it again today, with green salad and an oatmeal cookie. We heard fireworks yesterday starting before dark and they went on until past Midnight, and expect the same today. I don’t like them, and neither does the cat.

    I guess the Duffis’s fireworks show at Rushmore went off (heh) with no masks or distancing. The “guests” were chanting “Four More Years!” I keep hoping he’ll get it, but I guess that’s mean of me.

    We put out the flag, but no plans for the day other than that.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, I’m baffled by Trump and the Republicans who continue to underestimate the coronavirus. The daily cases continue to climb. Younger people are contracting the virus…some with dreadful results. If the numbers increase, some states will have to shut down again. The Economy is headed for Depression.

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    2. maggie mason

      Rick Hamilton is on disney plus. I heard due to it’s popularity they’ve suspended free trials.

      Reply
  11. Rick Robinson

    The poor cat spent most of Friday and Saturday under the bed. The idiots and fools setting off the explosions continued from Friday evening to throughout the day Saturday to well after midnight.

    I have fireworks and wish they were COMPLETELY illegal and that such a prohibition was strongly enforced. GRRR!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, I would never waste money on fireworks. It’s like setting fire to your money. And, these fireworks clowns don’t realize they’ll regret not having the money they wasted on fireworks a month or two from now.

      Reply
  12. wolf

    Yes, seems that (some …) people have too much money.
    Our dog was also very afraid of fireworks. After my first wife died I would always go to Hungary immediately after Xmas – because Hungarians didn’t have so much money to throw away.
    Btw that was the reason why I met my new wife. I went to the manicure/pedicure lady around New Year’s Eve and she told me she had the perfect partner for me, which of course at first I wouldn’t believe …
    Which woman would want an old geezer like me, already 63 years old?
    But she insisted, and so we met on Jan sixth in my favourite restaurant – the rest is history …

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