It’s the Fourth of July. I suppose that means I am supposed to be out celebrating and watching fireworks. Because, that’s what you do on the Fourth of July. That’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s just required. Like reading Lord of the Flies in high school.
But instead I’m sitting here on my sofa watching extremely boring television and waiting for the oven to preheat so I can bake some tater tots.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the fireworks. I enjoy a good fireworks show as much as the next guy. But mostly, I just want to take pictures as fireworks are one of my favorite things to take pictures of ever since I discovered that they have their own special setting on my camera which delivers some truly exceptional pictures, if I do say so myself.
But even the desire to go see the fireworks and take pictures of them isn’t enough to make me actually leave my house and go see them. You see, it’s events like this that bring out New York City’s finest. And by finest, I am referring to the people who, for some odd reason, seem to have lost the ability to smell their own body odor. The people who have far too many children yet lack the ability to care for a hamster. The people who think a holiday (regardless of which one it is) is an excuse to get extremely drunk and obnoxious.
Not only do New York’s finest make an appearance at events such as this, but tourists come out in droves. And I have nothing against tourists. My livelihood depends on them, actually. But large concentrations of tourists is also not my idea of a pleasant evening.
I would much rather be spending tonight with a friend or two. But most people have barbeques at their gatherings today. And nobody wants to invite the Vegan to their holiday barbeque. And the Vegan doesn’t want to go to anyone’s barbeque. I can’t think of anything more revolting than watching a group of people grilling a dead animal carcass on an open fire and then feasting upon the charred flesh. So, here I am, the lonely Vegan, “celebrating” Independence Day alone at home. Just me and Miss Jackson.
For some reason I decided to have Tater Tots for dinner. They randomly popped into my head today while I was at work and realized I hadn’t had any since… well, I can’t really remember when the last time was. I would imagine grade school. So, I really started craving them to the point where it was pretty much all I could think about. So, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought an entire bag of frozen tater tots and right now they’re in the oven and my apartment is starting to smell delicious.
I’m actually finding it hard to focus on writing. I keep looking over at the timer on the oven to see how much longer until they’re done cooking. I feel like I’m back in Earth Science class trying to sneak peeks at the clock to see how long it was until class was over. I was always extra stealth about checking the clock in that class because I remember the teacher had a big poster next to it saying “Clock Watchers: Time Will Pass…But Will You?”
For some reason that sign always scared me. But for the record, I passed. With an A, thank you very much.
My Tots are almost done, and I plan on giving them my full attention once they are, so I’m going to close this entry by sharing some of my favorite fireworks photos that I’ve personally taken with you. All of these were taken at Disney theme parks, because when it comes to a fireworks show, they really are the best of the bunch. You can see them larger by visiting my Flickr Album.
Happy Independence Day, everyone. Hopefully one day soon, there will be freedom for ALL Americans.