Independence Day

People from all over were at Lake Lure cooling off and letting freedom ring for the 4th of July. Most every house around the lake was full of family and friends.

People started arriving Friday afternoon and were still arriving late Friday night. And Saturday. And Sunday. And Monday. Thank heavens for the Panini press. Sister had been over for a Panini in Shelby and suggested I take it to the lake. That was a great idea because as long as we kept bread, meat and cheese around, hungry people could just make their own masterpiece. Many a panini was made over the next several days.

We did cook one big meal a day which always included Steve Royster's organic potatoes and fresh cold watermelon. You can fill up a lot of hungry twenty year olds with potatoes and watermelon. At one time or another we fried about everything you can fry - bacon, squash, jalapenos, pickles. Of course David did some grilling including beef and hot dogs or it wouldn't have been 4th of July.

David and I had a fairly spontaneous combustion idea to host a Sunday morning brunch down on the dock for whoever was around. We had a houseful ourselves and some others dropped in. Linda brought over some fresh fruit and something she calls Bramble - eggs, bacon, and some other good stuff on a toasted English Muffin. A real crowd pleaser for sure. Vickie brought sweet homegrown blueberries and homemade bread. Since I burned the muffins that morning, Carol picked her own blueberries and arrived with fresh blueberry muffins. Beth and John arrived with plenty of orange juice to help kick things off. Mimosas helped kick things off too. Rhett made Steve's potatoes into fresh hash browns including lots of garlic, peppers and onions. I made breakfast casserole and Mama's country ham biscuits. As if that weren't enough Cindy decided we needed pigs in a blanket.

Since the twenty somethings had their days and nights mixed up, we warned them several times that Sunday Morning would come early so Saturday night should end early. Somewhere around 7 am on Sunday Morning, Aretha Franklin helped them wake up and THINK about FREEDOM and RESPECT. There's nothing like waking up early on a Sunday Morning to Aretha's testimony.

The twenty somethings were really helpful and carried many things down to the dock. Since the house is built on a hillside, there are a good many steps down to the dock and I was very grateful to have so many young arms and legs to help with that part.

We had the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing playing as people arrived by boat, car and on foot. It was a little bit like watching a parade as folks waved while walking across the bridge.

And speaking of parades, I missed the Lattimore parade this 4th of July but reports were that they had the biggest crowd ever. And that the Mooresboro fireworks were worth driving home for. We did enjoy the Lake Lure fireworks on Monday night.

We also enjoyed seeing people in the house, on the dock and on the lake celebrating Independence. And we had a poignant opportunity to remember something else about the 4th of July.

Several of us were heading out on the boat with little American flags to wave. We were all caught up in the fun and celebration. A pontoon boat floated up and on board was Suzy and her son, Kyle. We hadn't seen them in several years and as they stopped to catch up, Suzy said she wished she had brought a flag to wave.

Then, we learned that Kyle would soon be shipping out to the Middle East. That was one of those stand still moments. When you remember that Freedom comes with Responsibility. And Sacrifice. So we handed over a flag to thank Kyle. And Suzy. And all of the others.