Saturday, July 4--It's Just Not the Same

No smells of hot dogs and hamburgers sizzling on the grill. No rousing patriotic songs blaring from the radio. No squealing bottle rockets being lit by the teenagers down the block. No bunting flapping in the breeze from the neighbor’s porch. The Fourth of July outside of the United States just ain’t the same. I wouldn’t say I actively celebrate the holiday, but I definitely felt the loss of all the traditional goings-on in this, my first Independence Day out of America. The base, to its credit, did try to recreate that hometown atmosphere, with a 5K run, games for the kids, BBQ ribs, and a first-rate fireworks show. Driving off the base, dodging the crowds of Japanese who had come to see the fireworks, ended the illusion of being at home. And it was completely surreal to go to bed in silence, with no random bursts of firecrackers in the street to jolt me back from the edge of sleep.