Independence Day 2003 in Boston

I got so sun-burned from the Independence Day Celebration I looked like an American hotdog!

Some interns from my company, my friends from the area, and I went to see the Fourth of July celebrations in Boston. Since I live closest to the city, I volunteered to go there very early to save a spot. I marched there at 10 AM, carrying beach blankets, ice water, two folding chairs, and an extremely heavy rucksack full of food, games, reading material, and my company laptop (I was on-call so I had to bring my laptop everywhere). I tried to get in to the Esplanade where the Boston Pops would be performing, but there was a checkpoint and the guards went through all bags and coolers for concealed weapons and alcohol. They found my concealed weapon (a tiny swiss knife keychain) and turned me away. I didn't see the point in arguing with them so I just went towards the Charles River and set up camp between two trees at a corner street. It was actually a great spot, right in front of a dock and in the middle of all the action. I sat there and read my traditional Chinese medicine books and occasionally volunteered to take the photographs of tourists. The interns (two Bavarians, one Romanian, one Mexican, and one Swiss-Canadian) arrived at 2PM and gave me something to eat: Wienerla or Wienerle (the Bavarians argued about the pronounciation of this), Lyona, and Knackwurst. They brought beer to the park (verboten!) but they hid it in a paper bag. When they felt the urge to drink, they poured the beer into innocent-looking cups and mixed some Sprite with it to make Radler. Then we just sat there and played some games. I taught them some fun card games I used to play in college, and while we were playing, the Romanian "got the urge" and tried to make Radler, but the cops saw him! The paper bag technique wasn't so smart after all. The cops made him throw away his cup of Radler, and all the beer hidden in the paper bag. He was actually lucky they didn't arrest him. Anyway, that kinda spoiled the fun, and the worst thing was, the trash can was just in front of us, so it was torture that our beer was just sitting there and not being drunk. We continued playing, and a few minutes later, two homeless people wandered around, looked into the trash can, and found our beer. They were so excited by the find, the two of them almost got into a fistfight! So funny!

Another Mexican and her German boyfriend came later, and brought a bag of ice which we desperately needed by that time because it was wicked hot. We played some more games. Then my Japanese friends called and asked what I was doing, and I told them I was in the city waiting for the celebrations and I invited them to come over since I reserved space anyway. They came and brought more ice and some Japanese food -- sushi!!! But no raw fish though. Just breaded shrimp and breaded chicken sushi. It was delicious nevertheless. They brought enough for everybody, and the interns were introduced to Japanese culinary arts and found them good too. Oishi!!!

We played a few more games until the concert started at 8:30 PM. We couldn't see anything from where we sat, but we could hear everything. The Boston Pops were wonderful as usual. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was there too, about 300 people strong, and sang so wonderfully. There's this Soprano who opened the celebrations by singing the U.S. National Anthem. She was fantastic, especially when she improvised and hit that superhigh note, and everybody clapped in amazement! LeeAnn Rimes was there too, and performed some of her hit songs, like "How Do I Live" (... how do I live without you... i want to know... how do i ever, ever surViIiIiIiIiVE...). She was great too! Then the Boston Pops performed the traditional 1812 Overture by Tschaikowsky complete with booming cannons, to everyone's delight.

The fireworks began promptly at 10:30PM. The tree that shielded us from the hot sun now blocked our view of the fireworks, so we transferred and watched the display a few meters from where we camped. The Mexican sat in front of her German boyfriend, with her head resting on his shoulders, and his hands wrapped around her in an embrace. I couldn't see the others from where we were. We sat there for about half an hour, just looking at the sky. It was beautiful. You could see the faces of the children light up as the rockets exploded into a myriad of colors and painted the dark, cloudless sky for a few seconds. It's funny how at night, under the cover of darkness, everybody looks the same, be they black, white, or anything in between, be they male or female, young or old, Muslims or Christians, multinational CEOs or homeless people. We were all just people huddled together, watching the same spectacle, listening to the same music and exploding rockets, breathing and feeling the same cool air. For a brief moment, I felt at peace with the world.

After the fireworks, we reconvened at our original campsite and said goodbye to each other. We realized there was not a single American in our group! My Japanese friends walked towards the Charles/MGH station. The Mexican and German walked towards Park Street. The rest of us walked towards Government Center. I took the Haymarket Orange Line towards Medford, while the others rode the Blue Line to Wonderland where they parked. I arrived at home 30 minutes past midnight, took a much needed shower then went to sleep.

It was a very nice day and I'm glad I went. That was actually my first time to see the Fourth of July celebrations in Boston, even though I've been living in the area for several years now. Funny how I always take the things around me for granted.

That is all. Have a peaceful day wherever you may be.