By: Lora Wimsatt
We see the fireworks exploding in the sky, brilliant flashes of light bright and luminous against the black night, and then we glance down at the child sitting next to us and see an even more beautiful sparkle in their eyes. Vibrant red, white and blues are everywhere – none more awesome than the colors fluttering proudly on the breeze as the symbol of our nation, the flag of the United States of America.
The smell of hot dogs sizzling on the grill competes with that of the sulphur in the sparklers waved by children as they race across the lawn, the aroma of fresh-cut grass adding its fragrance to the summer perfume.
We hear the music as the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra plays all the patriotic favorites, and we thrill to hear the “boom! boom! boom!” of the fireworks and the “ooh, aah” chorus of the crowd.
If the night is warm, we might feel a bead of perspiration – okay, call it sweat – and we gently smooth the moist, wispy strands of hair away from the children’s eyes. We feel the snug nest of the lawn chair as it cradles us in relative comfort – so much better than those plastic webbed chairs of years past – and we reach for another soft drink from the tub of ice, slicking away the beads of condensation with a thumb.
Ah, the taste of that soft drink, cold and sweet and bubbly on the tongue! Another hot dog? Yes, please … and the finest restaurant in town can never match the wonderful deliciousness found only in those burnt-black stripes.
We revel, we rejoice in this celebration of the senses on the Fourth of July – sight and smell and hearing and touch and taste – but there is another sense that rises above them all, on this day beyond all others.
It is that swell of pride, the tinge of emotion that brings a tear to your eye as you rise to your feet and place a hand over your heart as the flag goes by, as you raise your voice, along with those of your family, your friends, your neighbors, your community, the country we all call home, in singing the “Star-Spangled Banner,” changing keys at the end and holding out that long note in triumph as we proudly proclaim that we are, still and always, the land of the freeeeee, and the home of the brave.