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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Community Comment

The Fourth of July in the rear view mirror…

Good morning, Netizens...

 

Happy Birthday, America! Although for the life of me, I seriously question how many Americans will be paying attention to anything other than the rocket's boom and red glare, most of them in various places throughout the Spokane area, some in their back yards. Judging by the window-rattling booms and an occasional aerial blast July 3rd , one might have thought July 4th came a bit early but perhaps your results may have been different. In Hillyard, the place where the city never sleeps, blasts were still going off at three o'clock this morning, July 5th .

 

Some, not all of the mainstream news media, ostensibly serving public good by their coverage of this auspicious holiday, have been largely ignoring any content bearing any semblance of meaning to July 4th as they have spent more time focusing on the travels of Prince William and Kate Middleton and various other news stories unrelated to our shared history as a nation.

 

However, if for nothing else, the Fourth of July is most-notably about food. Egods we collectively put on a gastronomic feast each year around the Fourth. Out come the burgers, brauts, hot dogs, steak, chicken, beans and potato salad. We eat until we are stuffed to the gills, and then lay beneath the trees in the shade where some fall asleep.

 

Aside from the fireworks shows, perhaps the biggest part of July 4th are the endless festivities in Riverfront Park. For the small stipend of a registration fee, I believe you can hock, sell or otherwise pawn off your doddering Aunt Wilhelmina in Riverfront Park. Perhaps ten thousand people will show up to see and perhaps even bid on your aging aunt, and if such an event actually were to take place, I probably would have to be in attendance just to see how the bidding went. Of course we don't really have anything like that here in Spokane. All we have are the same listless bunch of politicians attempting to get elected and a few entrepreneurs willing to try their hands at public office.

 

Yes, with July 4th in the rear view mirror, we still have a lot to look forward to this summer, the least of which we actually enjoying summer weather as we should.

 

Dave



Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.