Writing in Snow

Fourth of July Weekend at The Lake

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake. The Lake, I don't know if it had another name, we always called it The Lake. Grandpa had a trailer house on a lot, which included a lower level, a boat dock, and a ramp to put the boat in the water.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake were always fun and exciting. Grandma would fix mustard-mayonnaise potato salad, but cutting up chunks of boiled and peeled potatoes. She mixed onions and spices with the mayonnaise and mustard before mixing it into the chunks of potatoes.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake we always grilled outside on a small barbecue grill. We grilled real beef hot dogs, pork chops, chicken, and some sort of beef. The hot dogs were for us kids, and the other meat was for the adults. We had jello fruit salad for desert.

Fourth of July weekends at the Lake meant my brothers would harass the fire ants and the tiny black ants. They put firecrackers in the entrances to the anthill, lit the firecrackers, and back off a couple of feet before the firecrackers went off. It pissed off the ants, which seemed to amuse my brothers.

Fourth of July Weekends at The Lake meant fireworks after sunset. Grandpa always drove the car down to the lower level of the lot near the boat dock. He would sit on the hood of the car, light a Roman candle, hold it up, and shoot it off. One year one of the Roman candles backfired. He jumped off the hood of the car, threw the Roman candle at The Lake, and brushed the sparks off his work shirt.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake,
spent at Grandpa's trailer house,
were always fun and exciting.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake
meant lighting fireworks,
eating hot dogs
and Grandma's mustard-mayonnaise potato salad.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake
encouraged my brothers
to harass the fire and black ants
but lighting firecrackers
in the entrances to the anthills.

Fourth of July weekends at The Lake,
and one memory stands out:
Grandpa sit on the hood of the car
shooting off Roman candles,
when one of the candles backfired;
Grandpa immediately jumped off the hood,
threw the Roman candle into The Lake,
and brushed the sparks off his work shirt.

Written for "~ The Poet's Place Cafe~" .