I wanted to share a little bit about my family’s annual Independence Day celebration this year.
We always celebrated the Fourth of July, of course, but we started making it a bigger celebration in the aftermath of George Floyd. We were in this dark period in America where half a country seemed to be dumping on the United States at every turn, seeing absolutely no redeeming qualities, looking at police and lying about them at every turn.
In my family, we decided we were not going along with it and, instead, we were going to celebrate Independence Day, America, and, by the way, cops. So, we held a big Fourth of July celebration – like very big.
That first year, we hired Daniel Rodriguez, the singing policeman who performed the National Anthem at one of the World Series games after September 11 and brought everybody to tears. We did a reenactment of the Declaration of Independence and read an abridged version. All of our neighbors and our friends loved being reminded of the real story of America, and the reason we celebrate in a way no one else does.
A tradition was born in our family, in our neighborhood, and amongst our friends, and now it has just grown and grown and grown.
Parade of Patriots
This year, we went really big because it was our 250th birthday. As you probably know if you’ve been following this little saga in our family over the years, we usually dress up in colonial garb (some of the costumes I own; some we rent). We do an abridged reading of the Declaration and a little play. We have Thomas Paine represented. We have the King of England there as the villain. We have little kids playing both revolutionaries and British soldiers, and we really lean in.
This year, we just did the abridged reading and skipped the play because we added something else to kick off the party, which I called our “Parade of Patriots.” We recruited all of our friends and some family members to participate. My friend kept calling it the “Parade of Dead People,” but, no, it was the “Parade of Patriots” on a stage we had constructed in our backyard. It had the American flag, and it read “USA 250.” It looked amazing.
We started with the country’s founding, and then we went through the decades. Our friend Christopher Columbus was there, and we had pilgrims show up. A friend of ours emceed the whole event and talked about why we featuring the patriots we did.
We had Abraham Lincoln. We had Elvis Presley. The King managed to make it. This was a tough booking, let me tell you. But we got The King to show up.
We had Susan B. Anthony to represent the suffragettes.
We had Amelia Earhart here, ready to take flight.
We also had the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, in attendance.
We had Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was a bipartisan event, my friends.
We had General Douglas MacArthur, who saw us through World War II. He arrived with his corn cob pipe and his authentic MacArthur hat. He was a big hit with the members of the military who were also represented. We had Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
The little kids who were saluting on stage would later change clothes and get into their colonial gear. There was an outfit change for many of the folks there.
We had a little moment unfold between Marilyn Monroe, JFK, and Jackie Kennedy, which was very funny. Marilyn showed up looking absolutely fabulous. When the former president and first lady took the stage, Marilyn bombed onto the stage and tried to interfere with their relationship. The parts were played perfectly.
Audrey Hepburn showed up in her Breakfast at Tiffany’s ensemble and looking absolutely stunning with the full black gloves. Forever classy and timeless.
Neil Armstrong made the party. That was also a tough booking. Neil Armstrong came out there in his full uniform – helmet and all. I saw him and said, “I’ve been, Neil. Like Gayle King, I have been. We understand exactly what you did.” Buzz Aldrin, too! We were honored to have them both.
Steve Jobs arrived with his laptop and iPhone. Let me tell you, the Steve Jobs costume was among the hardest to put together. I provide the costumes to everybody, which was what I have been doing in my spare time lately. They don’t make wigs that have the Steve Jobs close-cut, balding head of hair. It was a challenge, I got a wig that had much longer locks, and we had to cut it. I actually did a little haircut on the wig.
We had John Wayne make an appearance. You got to have John Wayne out there with his sheriff gear and his gun.
We had SiriusXM’s own Dave Gorab there. He has been coming to the party for a couple years now, and this time he arrived as Babe Ruth. We appreciated having him.
We closed out our “Parade of Patriots” with the person who really brought us together more than any other over the past five to 10 years. I speak, of course, of Tiger King. That was a series that the whole nation watched during Covid. It was so fun and interesting, and our friend John played Tiger King with the stuffed Tiger. Everyone had a laugh.
The Marching Band
After the “Parade of Patriots,” we all changed into our 1776 costumes. We did our abridged reading of the Declaration of Independence, which always brings a tear. Honestly, it is just so meaningful. This is only half of our colonial members in the group picture because everyone was having such a good time, but you get the feel for how it looked.
And then the 75-piece marching band came out, and they were amazing. When they come down the street playing those drums and broke into the National Anthem with everyone singing along, you get a chill down your spine and a surge of patriotism through your body.
That must be what it feels like to be on the receiving end of some sort of electric current that doesn’t kill you, but instead inspires and makes you weep. They did such a beautiful job playing all patriotic music. All of our guests joined in singing, and it was so special. It is a church-like feeling when you get a group singing together with shared values like that.
I dressed up as generic colonial lady. Here is me and my husband Doug watching the band. I love my Dugger.
Celebrating America
That was our celebration, and, I have to say, it was incredibly meaningful to me and to my family. We love doing this, especially for the kids. All the parents and the grandparents thank us because it is reminding the littles what this holiday is really about.
Fireworks are great and beautiful and bring their own sort of reverence for the country when you take in their majesty. But it is important just to be reminded of how it all got started and what a special experiment they started in this country 250 years ago when they signed that Declaration and declared that it was our obligation to throw over a government that no longer answered to its people and that all men are entitled to the pursuit of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is a good reminder of what is special about us versus everyone else.
The day ended with a bunch of friends sitting around eating pizza. We served food at the at the event, but you know how it is. The people who are participating and doing all these outfit changes never eat. I am so grateful to them all for participating in this and giving us such a special shared experience.
Ending on a High Note
The weekend ended as it always does, in the pews at our local Catholic Church. Every year, at the end of the mass around Fourth of July, the closing hymn is “God Bless America.” I remembered to pull my phone out this time so I could record the audio for you. Listen:
What more could you ask for? Happy birthday, America. God bless you, my home sweet home.