The day of colorful (and obnoxious) explosions is over.

I wonder if there is still the same climate of uber-patriotism in the air that will bring me hell for suggesting that the 4th of July is anything less than a divine day of honor in which we celebrate our country through beer, meat and firecrackers. I feel the same way about this holiday as I do about things like Mother's Day or Valentine's Day. If something or someone is important to you, hopefully you spend more than one day a year doing something to celebrate that. And I do love my country. I'm embarrassed by it, and ashamed of its leaders in the past nearly 8 years, but in general I know how lucky I am to have been born and raised here. And it has some cool national parks, to boot :)

Anyway, that said, though I'm not usually a big fan of parades, E. and I were given the special gift of getting to go watch from the roof of the Granada--a gorgeous little movie house that has been defunct for years (such a waste!) right here in downtown. What follows is mainly just a photo-essay of the day from our rooftop vantage.

Marquee against the sky

E. looking at film that no one gets to watch anymore













J on the roof


















Planes in a--HOT--clear, blue sky














Yay for the nearly completed renovated library!














The BookSmart float--built from scratch