Twas 4th of July weekend & all through the house
Not a creature was stirring......except for the mouse.
The bunting was hung on the railings with care
In hopes that our company soon would be there.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear....
A big white Suburban & Casita drew near !
Hellos were exchanged & the camper unloaded
'Midst tales of the bear we'd seen up the road.
For dinner we went to the Pig 'n' Steak
And tried to catch a mule making a break.
The next day as horseshoes & lots of gnats flew
An Altima arrived, all shiny & new.
So we gathered the whole crowd, no easy task
And piled in our Suburban with Sam in the back.
It was a scenic 50 mile drive to the Park
Where we hiked on the meadow until it was dark.
Then we had dinner & blackberry sundaes
This would go down as one of the fun days !
We returned to the house & made a campfire out back
Toasted marshmallows, told stories & really relaxed.
The day dawned just gorgeous on the 4th of July
Vegetables were grilled & hamburgers fried.
Potato salad, corn, all you could wish
Even apple pie, but we didn't have fish.
We sat by the river & enjoyed the day
Some read,some studied, more horseshoes were played.
Firewood was chopped & stacked in a pile
Huge logs were split in "Paul Bunyan" style.
Wood chunks were flying, spectators almost got hurt
Sam found a safe place to sleep in the dirt.
The shadows grew longer & evening arrived
It was time for the fireworks for the 4th of July !
We took chairs & coolers & even some "bling"
And sat right up front where we wouldn't miss a thing.
Jimmy Graves' pyrotechnics gave us a good show
So what if the tempo was sometimes quite slow.
The highlight of the night was really a dud
It didn't go up & hit the ground with a THUD !
It exploded like a bomb & seemed just as loud
By the cheers & applause, it was a hit with the crowd.
America's birthday had been celebrated
Along with another, somewhat belated.
Then it was time for bed one & all
We had to rise early, no time to stall.
The convoy departed at dawn the next day
For work, school or doctor, though we wanted to stay.
But still we were grateful & happy to be
Family & friends in the land of the free.
God bless America & guard her from fear
God bless us all & we'll do it again next year !!!
