A Most Unusual Fourth

In America, our family always celebrated the Fourth of July with the typical fare of parades, cookouts, and fireworks.

Not so this year.

In France, the 4th of July is just another day. It was technically the last day for public schools, although students have been trickling out like a steady drip from a faucet since grades came out a few weeks ago. Lindsey skipped her final day of school, thanks to an invitation to accompany a friend on her family's week-long beach vacation. Greg worked all day, and I did the normal household chores. Lori hung out with a friend. Like I said before, it was just another day.

Later that evening, though, we enjoyed the company of some friends from Botswana, Africa who came over for dinner. While I was putting the finishing touches on the meal, Germany was putting the finishing touches on France in the World Cup. Greg and our friends watched the final minutes on TV, but Lori got the chance to watch it on a big screen in Place Bellecour with thousands of avid football fans. Later she described the scene to us: a throng of wall-to-wall fans were crammed together, singing La Marseillaise proudly, waving giant French flags and cheering with excitement. Red, white, and blue smoke bombs positioned throughout the square created a hazy veil which wafted over the  crowd. Little by little, the fans became more subdued as Germany prevailed, 1-0.

Lori is somewhere in the blue smoke

Back at the apartment, we turned off the TV and sat down to dinner. Our friends entertained us with stories of life in Botswana. We listened, riveted by tales of traditional village life, entranced by descriptions of raw unspoiled desert beauty. They told us of a land where wild animals roam freely, and it's not unusual to see rhinos, elephants, gazelles, even the occasional lion or cheetah ("they don't bother you as long as you keep a healthy distance"....yeah right!) The wife recalled dreamily of the time she got to visit the awesome Victoria Falls: "one cannot walk away from there thinking there is no God," she said. We laughed along with them at funny stories from their childhoods and courtship. It was a great evening.

Now as I reflect over this most unusual Fourth of July, I smile at the irony of eating an Italian meal with African friends after watching a French football match on an American holiday! Even though it was an enjoyable night, I do miss our American traditions. I always enjoy watching fireworks, and I'm really craving a hot dog right now. What I really miss the most is the deep pride I feel on Independence Day in America. However, this year's "un-holiday" fostered a sense of pride as well: not for my home country, but for my world, and for my God who brings us all together in perfect unity.