Zydeco

So, the 4th of July celebrations have officially started around here. Friday Steve brought home a box turtle which he found trying to cross the road and we set him up in a bin with some brown paper in the bottom, a dish of water, and a selection of treats which we thought would tempt him. Some black raspberries, some red raspberries, a few cherry tomatoes, and a handful of Swiss chard. He trampled everything and spent all his time trying to climb out of the "cage". I've kept turtles all my life because every 4th of July my community has a box turtle race. Put the turtles in the center of the ring facing outward, let them all go at the same time, and see who crosses the outside line first. Then you take the turtle back to the place where you found him and let him go. "Clipper" was overwhelmed by the noise of the cheering crowd and didn't take more than a few steps. We took him back to where he was found shortly afterwards. It's a nice annual memory for me, keeping a turtle, but Rebecca was scared to death of him and kept trying to climb up my leg every time he moved.

After the community stuff in the morning we came home for lunch and naps, then headed back for the first-ever Concert on the Green. They set up the band on the basketball court (running electricity down from the poolhouse) and we all sat on the hills by the ballfield with picnic dinners and grooved out. There were almost 200 people there! Everyone was saying how great it was and how we should do this more often. The Old Guard like me (having grown up in the community, I'm always saying "we used to do it this way, why don't we do things like that anymore") is usually not in favor of modern new ideas for community events (what ever happened to potlucks, bingo, and square dancing?) but we ALL loved this concert. It was supposed to go on from 5 pm to 7 pm but the crowds were still there talking at 9 o'clock, saying things like, give me your number and I'll call you, we should get together some time. It was a nice way for neighbors to meet neighbors. The band was Alligator Zydeco. Natalie especially loved the woman playing a washboard with spoons. She was itching to get down front and dance and finally found a group of other little kids and ran around and played with them for a long while. Rebecca and I hung out on our picnic blanket and ate food and talked with all the folks that came by to visit. Since I grew up there, people are always coming round to say, are these your kids? I can't believe you have kids. I remember when you were yay-high. And so on. Leah was home sick with a mystery rash that could be 1) an allergic reaction, or 2) Fifth's disease. Take your pick. The doctor said that until we knew which one it was we should keep her home, out of the sunlight, and away from other children. So Steve and Leah stayed home and missed the concert.

In other news, I bought a car. I got the title signed over to me this morning, O historic day! I've always wanted a little vintage car (my only vehicle so far has been a pickup truck, which I bought when I moved to New Mexico) and now I have one. A 1966 MGB convertible. Green with a white top. I'm so excited!!! The first order of business is to have a set of spare keys made (Ilco 62FS key blank) because I'm not the kind of person who can own a car which doesn't have duplicate keys...