4 Memories Of The 4th Of July

Memory 1. I grew up in Canada. Born in Nova Scotia, but as a baby moved to Toronto and grew up there. So every summer my parents would pile us in the station wagon and we'd drive to Grandma's house. And we drove thru the US, including Maine, to make the trip shorter, or why ever. Anyway, I remember seeing so many flags everywhere. Canada wasn't like that then. And I remember all the different stores and gas station names and on and on.

Memory 2. As an younger adult I drove across the upper midwest on the 4th of July. The Plains. Flatland.  And for miles in the distance I watched fireworks. Town to Town.  Probably saw more than a half dozen fireworks as the miles rolled by.

Memory 3. I flew once on the 4th of July in the evening. And it was a clear night. And I remember seeing fireworks from how many thousand feet in the air. Very spectacular.

Memory 4. My most vivid July 4th memory. And the most precious one. i was born in Canada and when I was lucky enough to be granted landed immigrant status so I could move to the USA, the paperwork was completed in late June. Then all that's left is being processed at a border crossing or airport. So I timed it and crossed the border from Windsor Ontario into Detroit Michigan just after midnight, and officially on July 4th.  The process is done at that point, it's just a matter of getting your stuff all stamped. So my date of immigration is July 4th. I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy.