Liberty Day

Every year, during the last week of June, my little town celebrates Independence Day. It all begins the week before with the Miss Shelby County Pageant. As the actual Liberty Day activities approach, we all decorate our porches and yards in a patriotic theme. Many of us with lovely porches, drape them with banners, ( I found out these were called buntings) and leave them up for several weeks. My friends give me red. white and blue items all the time because they know Columbiana goes "all out." A couple of years ago, I found this lovely folk art Uncle Sam at a consignment shop. He proudly stands with his rifle at ease. This year I had to teach him to "cock it" because mischievous teens or "red necks" have walked off with my lawn decorations! My street runs parallel with Main Street so a lot of traffic goes in front of my house on Liberty Day. Main Street is closed on Friday evening so vendors can begin setting up their wares. I love Libery Day. I get to see folks I haven't seen in years. They yell at me on the porch while they are stopped at the stop sign. Horses trot by...poooping the whole time, sirens blast and kids that I don't want to know where I live, discover the location to roll for next Halloween!. None the less, I enjoy every minute of it. I go to the parade that evening to catch junk just like a kid. But, the most incredible part is the fireworks display that night! I starts at 9:oo and the football field is full of folks from miles around. Free watermelon is served by our only grocery store,Piggly Wiggly. All the neighborhood dogs howl and hide during the fireworks. People walk everywhere and it's just a great day. I can still smell the kettle corn and Polish dogs cooking. I gotta close and see if Uncle Sam is still standing at attention...yea, it's August!