The fourth of July was pretty much the same as it always is in our sleepy little town. We headed over to our family “compound” and watched the parade in the morning. We call it the “compound” because my aunt (mother’s sister) moved to town a few years ago into the house right next to my parents. My dad installed a low fence to encompass both properties, with a nice-sized yard between for the grandkids to run around in. Thus, the “compound” was born.

Anyways, the compound was decked out in all the July 4th red, white, and blue trimmings. We all enjoyed the parade, and settled in for the family feast. Dad grilled two massive pork loins, and everyone brought plenty of yellow-hued side dishes. Good times had by all.

After a brief jaunt up to the park to enjoy some of the local festivities, we came back and relaxed while the kids continued to demonstrate the theory of perpetual motion by never stopping.

Meanwhile, my brother, nephew and I went to see Transformers.

I must admit, the raping of my childhood memories aside, Michael Bay did an excellent job with Transformers. It was action-packed, the ideas introduced made sense, everything moved along well, even the humor was well-written. The whole thing felt good, and I enjoyed the entire 2 1/2 hours of it. And I’m really looking forward to Transformers 2.

I’m also suddenly looking forward to “Cloverfield“, or whatever the hell they’re calling that weird J.J. Abrams project. Looks very interesting, that one. The trailer was stunning.

All in all, a really good fourth of July holiday. Made even better by the fact that the painter came back to us with a somewhat unreasonable, yet still acceptable quote for doing the painting on the house. So, yet another item taken care of! Now, we just have to hope he actually shows up.