Happy Fourth of July

The Fourth of July in Phoenix is an ambivalent holiday. The State is relatively conservative but the Fourth comes in the middle of the summer. Virtually anyone that can leave town does so. When I was growing up, (some think I never did), we spent all summer up on the "mountain." Translated, into Arizona speak, we actually were out on the Plateau in St. Johns, where we could see mountains to the south. The temperatures were slightly less intense than the Valley and it did rain every couple of weeks. The Fourth of July was a huge holiday on the mountain, a cannon salute at 6:00 am, with races, pancake breakfast, patriotic speeches, barbeque in park, dances and parties. In Phoenix, it was mostly ignored. There was (and is) the obligatory fireworks display, but except for family gatherings, there isn't much going on. So that is why I have a picture of the Statue of Liberty.

Mesa has tried to buck the tradition by having a Main Street gathering, but like most things in Mesa, they have almost no publicity. So almost no one, relatively speaking, spends the evening on Main Street.

It is strange to me that this low key ignoring of the Fourth of July seems to contrast with the avowed patriotism of almost everyone. I guess when you match up patriotism with 110 degrees outside, the temperature wins. The local Boy Scout troop does put up flags in our neighborhood. But this is not done out of a sense of patriotism but as a fund raising activity. You donate a set amount to the Troop and they put a flag on your front lawn on every holiday, including Flag Day and the Fourth of July.