Let Freedom Ring: A Day to Remember Part 1

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday was truly a day to remember. These last few days I have been a bit lethargic having a hard time getting things done, feeling unmotivated. I blame it on the heat. But yesterday morning, I woke up, found my way to the computer and added captions to all the photos from our On Tap show at the World Beat Festival. I posted a few on here, but if you want to see the other 35+, you can look here. An introduction will be added as soon as Stacey writes it.

After breakfast, (remember? Work some first, eat later?) I changed into painting clothes and headed to the theatre for a work party. The Comic Potential set is a work in progress and I enjoy throwing in a hand to build the set. As I was the only one with the paint brush and not scared of heights, I was the one nominated to be sent up the really high ladder to the set pieces at the top of the set. It was fun to talk with the director of the show as we painted and then to sing as I painted. Apparently, it wasn’t as quietly singing as I thought I was. I love how they recycle set pieces from one show to another. It shows great management. When they were working on building this one, I caught sight of one of the pieces from Death of a Salesman so that’s in their somewhere. It’s fun to see how the sets come together.

Cheryl arrived while I was up the ladder and we spent the rest of the afternoon happily in an upper room on the set painting away. It made it so much fun painting with her, talking and getting to know one another. At first we were painting on opposite sides of the stage when she asked me what I wanted in a guy. Mind you, we were not alone so another man and woman heard the whole conversation as well. I know what I want, the deal-breakers if you will, and at one point, I think it was after “a sense of humor”, the woman breaks in with, “You ask too much!” Now quite honestly folks, it is not too much. Isn’t it better to know what you want and look for it then take anyone that comes along? Cheryl thought so too.

After leaving the theatre, I hurried home, packed an overnight bag, and headed up to Ridgefield, Washington, to spend July 4th with Deanna. As planned, we drove her car to the Delta Park park and ride to take the Max into Portland as parking would be horrifically hard to find. We got off in China Town and walked along the Riverfront with an excursion to a pub for a beer while we waited for the fireworks to start. The fireworks were really pretty. When I was growing up, we always visited the firework stands and lit off fireworks at home but what I really like are the big ones shot into the sky. We found our way to the amphitheater and watched them from there, packed in a crowd of people.

As we had been walking around, we had noticed a lot of different cultures represented and all different races. I thought about that as I stood in a park of wall to wall people. We were all so different yet as Americans, we were together in unity watching the bombs go off in the sky. What drew us there together? What is so attractive to all of us that we unite for one night? Those bombs were originally lit off in a fight for freedom, a fight to live as a free people. I wonder if we still fight for that freedom, if freedom is something we still seek out. I’m not talking about political or bodily freedom, but the freedom inside. For nearly a year, I have been thinking a lot about what freedom means and what a free life looks like. Freedom is making your own decisions apart from what the culture and media says. Freedom is even going past the religious rules and listening directly to God. Freedom is realizing the world is full of color and we are free to explore. Freedom is not being afraid. How many of us live in chains but don’t know it? How many of us carry guilt and shame when we could be free? To some extent or another, the answer is all of us. But we can all be free, we can fight for it, we can break the chains. In America we celebrate our political and bodily freedom on Independence Day, or “Stick it to the British” as Deanna calls it. (We both love you British.) But we are still not free. Emotionally, spiritually, we still pay unfair taxes on our souls. Our forebears saw freedom and knew they wanted it. I have felt freedom and it has grown inside me and let me tell you folks, from what I’ve tasted so far, I know without a doubt, freedom is worth fighting for.

This video is out of focus at times, but it’s the last part of the fireworks I saw last night and really cool.

365-09 #185