Independence day nostalgia

The older I get the more the memories of past holidays come back to make me laugh or cry; depending on the memory. Most make me laugh, but some make me question my life choices. 

Back about 65 years ago I can remember being very angry at my mom for not letting me have “big” firecrackers. They had these little bitty ones and those are the only one’s mom would let me have. The boys got the big ones, although to be honest, they had size limitations, too. Only when they were deemed “responsible” enough could they get the big 3-inch black cats. Oh, how I envied them those big crackers, mine seemed so pathetic in comparison. 

Being the youngest and the only girl I always figured I had something to prove.  I would try to do everything they would do and maybe some things they didn’t even think of. Of course, lighting firecrackers while holding them then tossing them to watch them go off in the air was a favorite challenge. Sooo… Of course I had to try it. Now I am glad I was only allowed the tiny ones because of course I misjudged the time of fuse burn and one went off in my hand. If that had been a 3-inch black cat, I would be missing my thumb and index finger on my right hand. My hand was sore for several days, especially the thumb and index finger, but they were and are still attached. 

The brothers would allow me to help them enjoy their big ones, even allowing me to use the “punk” to light them after they had set up awesome armaments around anthills. The key was to wait until the ants all crawled up the sticks that had the firecrackers tied to them. When the time was right the fuses were lit and bang, bang, bang ants flew everywhere. Looking back, I think we were kind of mean. It never stopped the anthills though; they just kept growing. 

We rarely had big late-night displays because we just couldn’t afford them. Since my grandpa was on the Greybull fire department, we would go watch the fireworks there, or we would go to the drive-in. Mercers always put on a nice display between the movies of the double feature they always had on the fourth. That was such a treat. I don’t think I ever stayed awake to watch the second movie. I don’t think many kids did, but the first one was always a good kids type movie and the fireworks were always wonderful.  

Marinated Macaroni Salad

5 cups cooked macaroni

1 medium cucumber, diced and deseeded

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small jar pimento

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 teaspoon pepper

1½ cups vinegar

1½ cups sugar

½ cup oil

Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil until sugar is dissolved, cool, then add oil and mix well. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl, pour dressing over and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.