My Lack of Fourth of July

Date: Monday July 4, 2011

Time: 5:06 pm

Location: Taupo, NZ, My Flat

There’s something to be said for familiarity. People get comfortable; they have their “things.” Things they like, things they enjoy doing, specific foods that they eat at certain restaurants, certain clothes that are their favorite, etc. I myself have an orange shirt I wear to bed. It’s my favorite and I can’t even tell you why, maybe because it’s the softest. It’s from middle school and it’s says “24 Hour Run” in faded purple letters. At one time it had a bunch of signatures on the back but they’ve faded as well. It’s kind of hideous really. That shade of orange looks good on no one and there are the beginnings of holes in the armpits. Bottom line: it’s familiar.

For the first time in my life I actually am missing the Fourth of July. Yes, I know it’s still the fourth of July in New Zealand. But in no way is it the same. Today I worked, which never happens in the States because the Fourth is a National holiday. And my clothing had no trace of red, white, or blue. In fact, I’m wearing my Star Wars shirt.

Yesterday I brought up that today was the Fourth of July to the Short’s during lunch time. I was asked what we usually do on the Fourth, which was strange because I’ve never had to describe it before. “Well, there’s Hot Dogs and Cheeseburgers and people Barbeque and there’s swimming and fireworks and sparklers…” I listed.

I then began to feel a little homesick for the land of red, white, and blue. “Well, if you think about it, it’ll be the 3^rd in the states during most of your fourth and then you’ll wake up and it’ll be the fifth!” Mary-Anne offered. That’s true.

However, there will still be all these “Happy Fourth of July!!” statuses on Facebook. Maybe I’ll just avoid Facebook altogether tomorrow. That way, people can’t rub in my face that their watching beautiful fireworks or having corn on the cob or watching a baseball game. In your face! You All-American, Independence day loving, Fourth of July celebrators!!!

Oh, the familiar…

EPILOGUE

Date: Tuesday July 5^th, 2011

Time : 9:19 am

Location: Taupo, NZ, My borrowed office at Taupo Baptist Church

 So, not an hour later as I was sitting in front of the fire, watching TV, Kevin came into the lounge and said; “There’s a box downstairs for you to bring to home group tonight, Mary-Anne’s worked it out with Nicola.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Just something for you to bring with you to home group.”

“Is it for home group?”

“Yes.”

“Is it for Nicola?”

“No, it’s just for you to bring with you to home group, you ask so many questions!” he laughed.

I dropped it at that, but when my ride came to pick me up and I went down to get the mysterious box I noticed it said “The Big Boom Box” in big orange letters. They got me fireworks!!!!!!!

That night after home group my friends and I went down to Whakaipo Bay where there was no one around. In New Zealand there aren’t a whole lot of extraneous street lights or lamps anywhere. And thank God for that. You could clearly see the Milky Way and about a billion stars in the sky. It was so dark that you had to watch where you stepped so as not to accidently step into the lake.

For the next hour we set off fireworks with names like “lava flow” and “gamma ray.” All the while eating beef jerky and Doritos that my friends had bought for the occasion.  And then to finish off the night, Joel had bought Chinese lanterns for us to light and send off to float over the lake. If you’ve seen Tangled, they’re exactly like the lanterns in that movie.

Not a bad fourth, as it turns out. J