Got A Happy Story? Bonfire Edition.
Fri Jul 06, 2007 at 05:16:34 PM PDT
Got a Happy Story is a community gathering every Friday night where we share stories large and small that have put a smile on our face. It is a time to acknowledge the joy and wonder we experience. The Happy Story diary exists as a way to anchor the community in hope and comfort while we do the hard work of taking back our country. Everyone and all sorts of stories and pictures are welcome. May we find joy and strength here.
I don't have many childhood memories of bonfires other than a few from Girl Scout camp. They were unremarkable. Yet over the past 13 years I have developed such a fondness for bonfires that I would be saddened to miss our local July 3rd celebration. For my 10 year old, bonfires are an essential part of summer.
There is a tradition in the surrounding towns of bonfires and fireworks on the beach every July 3rd. In our neighborhood the activity begins after dinner. People carrying wood, wagons loaded with scrap wood, and pickup trucks loaded with pallets and discarded furniture make their way to the public stairs. And then each family or group of friends begins constructing their pyramids.
This year we were fortunate to have low tide at dusk so there was plenty of room for people to spread out.
People old and young line the sea wall and curl up on blankets to watch the fireworks.
Fireworks displays are unofficial, illegal actually, and stretch from Brant Rock, in Marshfield, to Plymouth--about 12 miles.
14 years ago when I first arrived there were 3 or 4 significant fireworks displays. More have been added over the years. This year there were displays every 200 feet or so, lasting about an hour, and stretching through the 4 towns.
In the midst of the fireworks displays the bonfires are lit.
Some are slow to burn and some go up in an amazing blaze and become ash very quickly.
We donate our Christmas tree every year, leaving it behind the shed all winter and spring to dry out. It produces bright crackling flames and becomes rubble in seconds.
Our little neighbor Lilly would think me remiss if I didn't mention s'mores. She's four and for her July 4=s'mores. She loves roasting marshmallows. She isn't interested in fireworks, or playing, or anything other than assembling and eating s’mores.
This year I was the recipient of her largess because every time a marshmallow caught fire and blackened she handed it over to me, deeming it unsuitable for s’mores.
soberdad likes his marshmallows just a tad warm from the fire but still pasty white. Lilly and my son like their marshmallows golden brown. I like them completely incinerated with a crisp black crust and gooey insides.
Feel free to share your bonfire or marshmallow stories below. And please share your happy story this week to give the rest of us a boost.
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