It is so important that as we go through our lives, we take the time to think about what has gotten us through to this point in our lives. Being the Fourth of July brings many emotions for many people, birthdays, anniversaries, other events that they may have participated in. As I was riding my bike today on what has probably been THE perfect day for riding this year, I was drawn back in time to memories of events that have happened.
The thoughts that I reflected on today took me back to the Fourth of July in 1989, just a few years ago. 1989 was a summer of adventure and stepping away from Monmouth to travel and perform with the Quad City Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. It was a summer away from work, away from home but it was a time where I got to learn much about myself and it was a scary time. One off the most amazing memories I had was the July 4th of that year.
That Fourth was a celebration just like many others, but this year I had the opportunity to see many celebrations. July 3rd was an evening show in Racine, WI. and the next morning on the Forth they had a Parade that we marched in. Once we completed that parade we then went to New Berlin, WI. where we participated in another Parade then another evening show. The memories were not necessarily the shows or the parades, but was the trip home. July 4th was the end of another long weekend that started for us on June 29th and ended that day, time to head home.
Never though a ride on a bus would be so memorable but it was. Leaving New Berlin, the show ended just before dusk so as we headed south we had a chance to celebrate the Fourth many times over. We witnessed a number of fireworks shows and the highlight was when we reached the pinnacle of a hill and saw four different shows going at the same time. It was an amazing perspective to a celebration that we as a country have been celebrating for so many years.
What I hope for tonight is that all stay safe, enjoy your celebrations but do what you can to make the memories that you can look back on with joy. I hope you have a wonderful and memorable Fourth of July.