Fourth of July In Chariton Iowa

My Fourth of July memories are firmly intact. We always got together with my aunt and uncle. Which meant our cousins, and we had so much fun. The day was about picnics, watermelon, carnival, parade. Fireworks of course; and we always wore a new outfit. In red, white and blue. Decorated our bikes with streamers. Also red, white and blue. So much excitement, the town bristled. You could hear people laughing on every block. Small town Iowa. Everyone neighbored. We ran between the houses playing games. The children were all outside, the cooking was already done. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, and watermelon. Ice cream floats made with root beer; a scrumptious day. We looked forward to all of it every year. The parade started at nine. Everyone was up town, on the square. Lawn chairs all over the place. Old people parked, waiting for their great grands to ride or dance past. Everyone was moving; singing. Fourth of July was summer’s Christmas. Prizes, popcorn, funnel cakes, cotton candy in two or three colors. The carnival barkers were goosing up the excitement, assuring us of a win. We usually wasted a lot of money trying for the big teddy bears. Tilt-a-whirl, merry-go-round, pony rides, and Loop-De-Plane! Once a year! The fourth of July! It was also my Daddy’s favorite holiday. It was the one day of the year all of his high school buddies came back to visit. He spent hours up town talking to them and laughing like he never did any other time. We all sat on blankets and watched the fireworks at the park at nine p.m. There is nothing in the world that makes me smile any harder Or want to bring back a memory any harder than my childhood memories of Chariton, Iowa on the Fourth of July!