Yankee Doodle Dandy

   
     More Letters From Paradise
       Yankee Doodle Dandy
During WWI the composer and actor George M. Cohan wrote a song called "Yankee Doodle Dandy." One of the lyrics say that he was born on the 4th of July. Our friend, Jerry, was also born on the 4th of July. He is retired from the Air Force. And, on his birthday, his wife Lottie, would make him a special cake. The cake was covered with white frosting, and red stripes made of strawberries. Then in one corner there was a field of blue berries and frosting with white dots. Very pretty, and very good tasting too.

There may be some of you who remember when our nation's flag contained only 48 stars, in neat rows. It all changed in 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union.

When I was stationed in Puerto Rico, before Alaska and Hawaii became States, there was talk of Puerto Rican statehood. That would have given flag designers fits. And, what about Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands?

But flags alone are not the only part of the July 4th celebration. There are fireworks too. When I was a kid, fireworks were not legal in Michigan. You could sometimes buy   a few packs from a guy who had bought them in Ohio. Profit for him, and fun for us.We carefully untied the braid, and divided the firecrackers, so that we could have single explosions, instead of one big series of bangs.

And more often, we made our own. We all knew the formula for gunpowder, and the ingredients were easily bought from the drugstore. Potassium Nitrate, Sulfur, and powdered charcoal. The ancient Chinese used this mixture long before Marco Polo brought the formula back to Europe. Which reminds me of the saying "Gunpowder made all men the same size." Warfare was changed forever.
Our gunpowder never amounted to much. A few bangs were created, but mostly lots of smoke and fire.

When we moved here to Hawaii, fireworks were legal. And on the 4th of July there were large, and I mean large, clouds of smoke. The law has changed, and now a permit is required, and the smoke and noise is much improved. Except for Chinatown, where the use of fireworks is widely used as a part of their culture.

We have huge aerial displays here on special occasions. And, those of us living here in Waikiki, are treated to aerial displays every Friday night, from the Hilton Village directly across from our lanai.

Years ago, I remember sitting on the grass of the fairgrounds, waiting in the dark for the show  begin. It was a big event, once a year.
         Aloha
         Grant