Ours was a surprisingly
quiet fall into darkness for a 4th of July. After a pleasant day spent here at the lake
with some of my oldest friends and some of my newest friends and an evening
spent with more friends in town, that girl and I sat on our back deck and watched
stars slowly evolve in the oncoming cool of night. Far behind us, in new subdivisions, along the
Causeway, in the East Valley, fireworks popped (muffled by distance) almost continuously.
At one time, I considered
fireworks the highlight of 4th of July celebrations. Last night, we didn’t even bother to sit on
the other side of the house to watch them.
Instead, we sat in our own relative silence watching ripples smear
reflections of artificial light on the surface of the lake far below.
I thought to myself: “Happy
birthday, America! You’re the best! I have learned to love you the most when you
are quiet.”
--Mitchell Hegman
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