Our neighborhood has had the custom of having a party July 4th right here in our very own cul de sac. It's gotten a lot more modest as the kids have grown up and people have moved. New people come in and don't necessarily participate.
At its prime at least in the last 22 years...it was THE place to be for the kids. Fireworks were legal then and some of the dad would really stock up especially at the stands on the Reservations where even more was legal. It could be a real pyro experience as these dads would try to outdo each other. The kids LOVED it. I know some parents might want to go elsewhere but many a young person would say "Mom, you go where you want but I'm going to be HERE for the 4th of July". Often there would be a little softball game with a whiffle balls with many heroics in the outfield. One year Laura T (maybe in high school) got hit in the face with the whiffle ball "A sports injury!" she cried out in delight "A sports injury! I've got a sports injury! I've got to call my friends and let them know"
The adults would build a fire in a portable fireplace and talk into the night while the kids ran around between the houses. A great time.
But the best time was early the next morning. The kids were responsible for cleaning the fireworks debris out of the cul de sac. They competed to see who could get out there first to get the really cool burned up stuff. Nobody could beat Susanna, she got out there at the crack of dawn.
Well, this year, it started out a little slow. Ilana and Teddy are there at the appointed time ....
Later some folks came and we did water balloon volleyball which we've done for at least 10 years. Really fun, I know I've written it up before. You get lots of water balloons. You play in pairs each holding the end of a beach towel. You use the towel to launch and catch the water balloons. Mike G, a neighbor, and Narronika, age 12 (?) in the foreground are throwing up a water balloon. I remember Narronika distributing the water balloons when she was about 2.
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