Happy Belated Birthday 'Merica,

Okay so it is NO secret that the 4th of July is by far my favorite day of the year and it has been since I was a wee little tot.  My town's only claim to fame is hosting the Annual Henagar Potato Festival.  Yes a festival for potatoes. Its awesomeness is unsurpassed. Please see this lovely video. I cannot be held responsible for the contents of the video... its You-Tube.

Yes its my home town, yes I know most of those people, no I was not in the parade.
Plenty of people mock the South and even I think the parade is quite comical but I love every bit of it.
This is at 10am and in Alabama that means the temps are hitting 98-99 and 100% humidity. I have seen people on the streets at 9 just socializing waiting on the parade.  Its amazing.
Especially after all the devastation our area has been through in recent months.  This year it was truly a celebration of living to see politicians, horses, every firetruck in the county, every motorized vehicle known to man, and folks you just might not see any other time of year. 
Its a day of families. Nothing better than playing at the park with 20,000 other people, sipping fresh squeezed lemonade and eating a tater-twirl. I prefer to not get a tater twirl, but rather to share one with my Bestie just like I have done for the last 16 years.  Listen to some live music, look at cars in the car show.  Then at 9:00pm rain or shine, we (the entire Northeast section of Alabama) pile up on blankets in fields, in truck beds or on our roofs to see what for the last 28 years has been the largest Fireworks show in North Alabama. And I will tear up like a big baby, because well, that's what I am at times. A lot changes in a year, and many people reflect on New Years or their Birthday.
For me its in the deafening silence between the fireworks exploding in the air.  This year has had its gains and its loses. But in the end there is always that beautiful explosion in the sky.