Barbara J. Hamby

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Happy Birthday to our Country

We had a quiet morning puttering with our computers and playing cards. Al’s niece from Seattle called from her parents’ house in Molalla to invite us to a barbecue in late afternoon. We drove out there in traffic that was so light we arrived early. There were several other guests to meet before dinner. One was a high school teacher his niece had, who had brought her son and another was a lady friend from Seattle who had taken the train yesterday afternoon.

The friend was still tired and upset because the train she was on had hit a car, cutting the vehicle in half and killing all four of its occupants. The passengers were delayed for at least four hours and came into Portland on a different train sent to pick them up. She had seen the wreckage. I saw it on the late news and it was an awful scene.

I was delighted to read in the July newsletter for our mobile park that fireworks of any kind were not allowed here. If the ones I’m hearing outside the window are as far away as they should be, they are certainly loud. There is a public fireworks show over near Tigard High School that is visible from here.

We had a wonderful dinner with Al’s sister and brother-in-law and their daughter and her friends. Before and after dinner we watched an eagle’s nest with an adult eagle and a hatchling in a tall tree nearby. Their house sits on a lovely spot overlooking a pond and trees, hills and pastures.

After filling up on barbecued chicken, fresh vegetables and fruit, we had berries and ice cream. We headed home shortly after 8:00 and were amazed at how little traffic we encountered. I guess everyone had gone to fireworks shows.