A Lot Of Works, But Not Much Fire

Now that it's the 5th, I can ask about your 4th. Did you barbeque? Light a few sparklers? Yell at your kids to back away from the lighter? All good signs of a great holiday.

No fireworks here. Zip. Not one crackle. When you live in a place that has the same temperature as your oven on broil, everyone gets a little touchy when it hasn't rained in weeks. Around here it's hot, dry and hot again. Thus, the sparklers were banned.

So, we cut out the 'fire' and just lingered over the 'works'. Went to a movie, ate good food with good friends. Serious work. And the best part of the day? We went to bed at 10:00 pm. We didn't have to sit outside and get infested with bugs while watching all the dads light up the street. Instead, the streets were silent and we watched TV in the air conditioned house. Ah, silent night. The perfect kind of holiday.