My 4th of July Weekend 2010

Hope everyone had a wonderful 3-day weekend, like me! While Matt as with his Dad this weekend, I invited my friend & coworker Grace to spend the weekend with me. On July 2nd, on Friday evening, she followed me home after work. We had quick dinner, and then attended the performance of the Romford Drum and Trumpet Corp. at the Smyrna Opera House. The 4th of July Smyrna/Clayton committee sponsored them to come and march in our parade this year.

The Corps is a youth military style band, based in the London Borough of Havering. As one of the oldest independent youth marching bands in the country, it has a proud history, with performances throughout the U.K., France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Gibraltar and the U.S. It has also had the honor of performing in the presence of every member of the Royal Family including a performance at Buckingham Palace. This concert will feature a mixture of marches, film music, original compositions and popular music.

The next day we had breakfast at the Smyrna Diner. The first small diner was originally placed in 1954, but then replaced by a 1965 style silver Paramount. However, it was sold to a diner collector in Cleveland, Ohio. The new diner restaurant now resides about a mile south of its original location. My next blog posting will be about the changing scenery and history of Clayton, Smyrna. I have fallen in love with my own community. It is such an iconic "little home town" that is proud of its traditions.

After breakfast we headed north to Battery Park in New Castle. It's a middle sized park that faces the Delaware Riverfront looking towards New Jersey. The Park has basketball & tennis courts, playground, and a one mile walk/bike path. It also has an old ticket booth from the Frenchtown railway. On a windy day you might even spot a New Castle sailing member paddling out to their sailboat. We had a great walk and stopped to talk with older folks sitting under trees, or the dog owners with their cute pups. After the walk, onwards to the Farmers Market for fresh Amish meats, cheeses or South American fruits right off the boat heading up to Philadelphia, or local vegetables.

Sunday, Grace accompanied me to church. When I play piano in Sunday School, she teaches the children how to sign the songs they learn. In fact, they've learned so much from her visits that they can sign most songs on their own. It is so fun to watch her get excited and see the children reflect her joy in their faces. Later that night, we watched the fireworks on TV in NY, DC, and Philadelphia.

On Monday, we celebrated our Independence Day starting with the parade! The parade began at 9:30am and it was already 89F. We hit 102F that day and decided to stay in the shade under a nice tree. Our little town has the oldest running traditional 4th of July parade in the state. We have most beautiful baby contests, pretty leg contests, dog contests, and of course, the famous lawnmower races! The festivities start with the Smyrna Harrington Realty Association putting miniature American flags up and down every main street in Smyrna. At 10:00 a.m., we have the most awesome parade. Smyrna and Clayton take turns hosting the parade since the 2 towns together are smaller than most small towns. We have police cars, fire trucks, pageant winners, girl and boy scouts and our local sports teams strutting their stuff.

After the parade, we joined another co-worker and best friend, Gerald Mood for lunch. A movie was next on the agenda, in Dover. It was nice to spend a cool afternoon together. We agreed that although we were not happy with the movie, it was a blessing to have a wonderful place to work that gave us the paid holiday to do with what we want.