Fourth of July....Past & Present......
The following is actually a letter I wrote earlier today to send to a friend in e-mail. Rather than rewrite the story, I thought I'd share it here with all of you. I hope you each have a great 4th!!!
Our local firework celebration has taken place at Victory Stadium, an old football stadium landmark, for years. I attended the festivities last year with some friends (not realizing the fate lying ahead), but I was also one of the lucky people who could see the display very well from my front yard. Whenever my family lived here, we'd cook-out on the deck, then move lawn chairs to the front yard at dusk, and watch the kids and their friends and all the others in the neighborhood light their own fireworks and sparklers in the cul-de-sac in between the larger display taking place. We'd all be wearing our red/white/blue, and we'd proudly wave our large flags on the front porch, as well as the smaller version in our hands....
This past week I took my camera down to Victory Stadium, where lawn chairs were set up once again, but this time in the parking lot for those present to observe the demolition of our beloved stadium. You know the old story....innovation...time for change, so voted the 'yuppies'....The 'old-timers', with stories to tell, were there with tears in their eyes, the 'baby-boomers' brought their children to witness something they will never have the opportunity to experience again, and likely will not have the fond memories to carry into their old age like those mentioned before. Restless teenagers with nothing better to do were there...as were several television crews and photographers of all calibers....from the professionals with tripods to the amateur with a throw-away camera. Then there were the three guys sitting on the tailgate of a vehicle, recalling football games and other celebrations that were a part of their past, lifting their beer bottles to the night sky and longing to be in high school or college once again!! It was bittersweet and sad, to say the least.
I captured it all in photos that night, if you'd like to see. Today, there is NO Victory Stadium, no spouse, no kids, no fireworks at my house. I do have a new grill I want to light up, and homemade ice cream sounds good...now if I just had my 'kidnapped Lady Liberty' whirling, sparkly flashlight to take outdoors, I'd be set!!
Our local firework celebration has taken place at Victory Stadium, an old football stadium landmark, for years. I attended the festivities last year with some friends (not realizing the fate lying ahead), but I was also one of the lucky people who could see the display very well from my front yard. Whenever my family lived here, we'd cook-out on the deck, then move lawn chairs to the front yard at dusk, and watch the kids and their friends and all the others in the neighborhood light their own fireworks and sparklers in the cul-de-sac in between the larger display taking place. We'd all be wearing our red/white/blue, and we'd proudly wave our large flags on the front porch, as well as the smaller version in our hands....
This past week I took my camera down to Victory Stadium, where lawn chairs were set up once again, but this time in the parking lot for those present to observe the demolition of our beloved stadium. You know the old story....innovation...time for change, so voted the 'yuppies'....The 'old-timers', with stories to tell, were there with tears in their eyes, the 'baby-boomers' brought their children to witness something they will never have the opportunity to experience again, and likely will not have the fond memories to carry into their old age like those mentioned before. Restless teenagers with nothing better to do were there...as were several television crews and photographers of all calibers....from the professionals with tripods to the amateur with a throw-away camera. Then there were the three guys sitting on the tailgate of a vehicle, recalling football games and other celebrations that were a part of their past, lifting their beer bottles to the night sky and longing to be in high school or college once again!! It was bittersweet and sad, to say the least.
I captured it all in photos that night, if you'd like to see. Today, there is NO Victory Stadium, no spouse, no kids, no fireworks at my house. I do have a new grill I want to light up, and homemade ice cream sounds good...now if I just had my 'kidnapped Lady Liberty' whirling, sparkly flashlight to take outdoors, I'd be set!!
posted by Di at 1:54 PM
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