When Margie was growing up, the Fourth of July was her favorite holiday of the year. Everyone would go down to the lake, and we'd have a picnic with Lion's Club chicken (the best ever) and Mom's yummy potato salad. Margie and her brother John would get to pick one piece of candy from the concession stand, and Margie would always pick a watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher (back in the days when you got one big slab, rather than the little pocket sized ones you get today). We always brought our swimming suit, hoping to go swimming in the lake, but it was never hot enough that early in the summer.
When it got dark, we'd watch the fireworks put on by the Lion's Club (up close and reflected in the water--there was nothing like it!). Then we'd go home, have hot chocolate, and light sparklers on the back porch. It was a great time and a great tradition, and it was always the one day of the year Margie got homesick when she moved away.
Fast forward many, many years, and when Margie first moved to Virginia, she thought it would be fun to participate in the celebrations around town. After all, it's our Nation's Capitol! This should be the best show in the country! But she soon learned that July 4th in Virginia is nothing like Oregon. Rather than being cool (and maybe even a little chilly), it was hot and sticky and gross! After a few years, she gave up celebrating Independence Day and preferred to stay indoors in the air conditioning. It always made her a little sad that her children did not grow up with a wonderful tradition like she had on this important day.
Well, this year we were fortunate enough to participate in something that hopefully made a lasting impression on the kids. We actually got to be in the show! Here's how it went down.
As usual, we had nothing planned for the Fourth, so when a theatre friend posted on Facebook that they were looking for a few extras to roll out a giant flag at the concert (in celebration of the 125th anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner), Margie readily volunteered. She started to ask if, in return, the whole family could get reserved seats at the concert, when the thought occurred to her-- Heck, the kids are pretty old now. Why can't we all do it? She asked, and they said YES!
The morning of July 3, before heading out on her daily bike ride, Margie went into the city to pick up everyone's credentials--a lanyard and badge we were required to wear, a parking pass, and instructions. It seemed impossible to find a parking space anywhere close to the event trailer, when she realized--"Hey, I have my bike on the back of my car!" So she parked a few blocks away and rode in. Easy peasy.
That afternoon, we all drove into the city for rehearsal. Luckily, since Margie had been there in the morning, we knew pretty much where to go. Except it wasn't quite clear where the parking lot was. We had left early enough, though, that our getting slightly lost didn't make us late.
From our parking spot, we had to walk a couple of blocks to get to the event trailer. And it was hot. And sticky. And yucky. But we persevered in the name of adventure!
The entire area was sectioned off with crowd control tape, and there were police officers everywhere. At one point Margie stopped to ask a policeman how to get from here to there. He said, "This area is not open to the public." She said, "But I need to get to the event trailer." He said, more sternly, "This area is not open to the public." Margie waved her badge and said, "But I'm not public!!" At that point Dan gently pointed her in a different direction and said, "Just keep walking. We'll find another way." Good thing Dan is always around to calm her down! LOL
Eventually we made it to where we needed to be--flashing our badges as necessary to get through the tape. We, along with several other volunteers, waited outside the trailer in the heat for our coordinator, Lamont. The minute he walked outside and saw us he said, "Oh, this won't do. We need to get you someplace more comfortable." And that was the beginning of our royal treatment! We were so impressed with how well we were treated and looked out for by all the staff over the next two days. It was amazing!!!
Lamont led us to the Food Tent, which was the only shaded area big enough for all of us (they were hoping for 30--I think they had 18 that first day). Lunch was still set out, and at first we thought it wasn't for us, but Lamont told us to eat, drink, and make ourselves comfortable. They would call us for rehearsal when they were ready.
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| Dan chilling out in the Food Tent. |
Eventually they led us to where we would be doing the unrolling--on a large landing on the steps of the Capitol. We were introduced to a guy from Kivett Productions, which are exclusively in the business of renting giant flags. Who knew?! Anyway, he trained us on how to unroll it, how to hold it, and how to fold it back up--being very careful not to touch the ground.
After our training, Lamont announced that, unfortunately, the kids would not be able to participate (our were not the only ones there). They simply were not strong enough to keep the flag from falling down. The kids were disappointed, but agreed that it was a tough job. After the actual performance, Dan and Margie realized that yes, the kids definitely could not have done it. We had to hold that thing for a really long time!! But more on that in a minute.
Anyway, the plan was, after we practiced a couple times and learned the technique, to do it officially during the dress rehearsal later that night.
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| One of the other volunteers took this picture of her friend (in the middle) while we were practicing, and Margie asked if she could have a copy, too. Margie is on the right in the white hat. |
Unfortunately, the weather turned and it started to rain. At first, they had us wait out the storm in the U.S. Botanical Gardens--an actual building that would keep us safer from the lightning than the tents (the wind was blowing the rain sideways into the tents anyway). The lightning passed, but the rain did not. They were able to carry on with the dress rehearsal, but not our part, since they did not want to get the flag wet.
Before we got sent home, however, we got to eat dinner, and it was amazing. All you can eat, restaurant quality food, with lots and lots of vegetarian options. Quite a difference from the mediocre food and service that Dan and Margie had endured at Bike Virginia!
The next day, we headed into the District for the real deal. This time, we knew exactly where we were going, and when we got to the VIP gate, the security officer gave us "the nod" and let us in even before the VIP guests. It was pretty exciting!
We headed to the event tent, and this time, while we were waiting for Lamont, the staff offered us ice cream. Again we were amazed at how well we were treated!
Lamont handed out the matching T-shirts we would be wearing for the performance (we were also supposed to wear caps, but there was objection, since we would be holding the flag during the National Anthem), and we again headed to the Food Tent. There we learned that the performance had been changed due to the camera angles. We would not be unrolling it on camera, we would not be angling it as we had practiced, and the flag would be facing a different direction than it was during rehearsal. Also, because the flag was so heavy, and they had taken out several kids, there were not enough people to hold it, so they asked for volunteers from the audience to help out. Margie was slightly miffed that the family had put so much time and effort into the performance, and the audience volunteers just had to show up, but then she remembered that THEY had be receiving the royal, VIP treatment for two days, and the audience volunteers didn't!
Anyway, we ate another fabulous, amazing, restaurant quality meal, and then the kids went to sit in the concert viewing area with our renter, Braxton, and his girlfriend, Dani. One of the benefits of performing was we got VIP seating with an actual chair for the concert, along with members of Congress and other special guests (including OUR guests!). Then Dan and Margie headed up to the steps of the Capitol to await the performance!
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| Waiting for the concert to begin! |
This would probably be a good place to mention that the weather was AMAZING. I doubt if there has been another Virginia 4th of July like it. Not too hot, and zero humidity!!!
Anyway, we unfurled the flag as the concert began, holding it taut through all the opening announcements and the entire National Anthem. It was about 8 minutes total, and it HURT! Our hands were sore and cramped by the time we were done. From where Margie was standing, she had a direct view of the JumboTron, and she was able to see that our hard work was on TV for about a millisecond!!! Argh!! All that work for practically nothing. I guess that's TV for you! When we got home, we watched it on TV, and we were able to pause it at just the right moment to get his picture:
Not too much fame, but it was totally worth it!!! We had a super great time.
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| The final presentation. |
Not too much fame, but it was totally worth it!!! We had a super great time.
When we were done, Margie and Dan joined the kids in the VIP seating area for the concert, including Frankie Vallie, Patti LaBelle, Philip Phillips, and more.
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| We took a snapshot to prove how close were were to the stage! |
Then, of course, came the fireworks. We were not as close as thought we would be, as they were fired from the Washington Monument, but it was still a great show, with great music. The kids, and John especially, LOVED them. It occurred to Margie that these were perhaps the first fireworks display they had every really seen, and she again felt that pang of guilt for having abandoned celebrating all those years ago.
Well, at least now the kids have some great memories. Perhaps we will have a chance to make more before they leave home.
Happy Fourth!
BONUS:
Margie used to blast this song on the stereo and sing at the top of her lungs every year on the 4th of July, replacing Hannibal, Mooooo-ssouri with Lake Oswegooooo--Oregon! The holiday is just not the same without it. :o)
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