The 4th of July is my special holiday

67 years ago today I crossed the boarder into Alaska with my two sisters and Mom and Dad. I don't have any photos of that day and only vague memories. After all I was only 3 years old. But, I remember my Dad and a frend shooting their guns in the air in celebration.

I also remember my parents talking about that day and the dear friends we met in the campground on the Alaskan-Canadian boarder remained family friends through "thick and thin".  Their names were Larry and Laura Straley. In fact it was Laura that picked me up on the way home from school in October 1955 to tell me that my Dad had been killed in an airplane crash and it was Larry that took me under his wing when I was 14 and taught me how to install carpeting (my first real job).

I remember spending time at the "ski-lodge" they were building near gun-site mountian (half-way between Anchorage and the our homestead on a 4th of July when I was around thirteen. Check out the website here.

For us the 4th of July fireworks were always about guns, fire-crackers and sparklers (mostly because it doesn't get dark enough in Alaska to see the arial fireworks).

I remember building a "cannon" one 4th of July when I was fourteen. My friends and I used a driveshaft from a 38 ford. We welded up one end of it in Bro Carlsons Auto Shop class (he didn't know what we were planning), painted it blue with a american flag on it, and the words THE 2ND AMMENDMENT in white on the side. We droped cherry bombs and M80's down its throat and followed them by balls or rocks and shot them in the air.

Looking back it was REALLY DANGEROUS since we really didn't know where those projectiles were going to fall (someone could have been hurt - BAD).

Today Grandma and I meet with Tressa and John (and the kids) at Tammy and Todds after Liberty's blessing and celebarated with a lunch of Bar-b-que Buffalo while the grandkids played on the 4 wheeler.

I really don't know what the kids were doing (besides yelling and runinng around) but then my folks never really knew what I was doing. Some things never change.

Well it is now eight minutes after midnight. It is still light out. Grandma is asleep. And our neighbors are shooting their guns in the air.  Some thing really never do change.  And for that I am very greatful.