Happy birthday to us! With such great weather, and with so many things planned to celebrate our Independence Day, just for a little while the ugliness of our world can take a back seat.
There are so many things to do and places to go, I hope you have a blast all weekend long, as the skies are lighting up with fireworks instead of lightning, and the booms are from their explosions instead of from thunder. You can go to a different area in our county every day all weekend long, and enjoy a variety of food and fun, along with the booms and music. Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, Gary, Griffith, Hebron, Highland, Hobart, Portage, and Valpo are just a few of the places to take your family for everything from parades and culminating with fireworks.
If you are creating your own fireworks show, please be so careful so that no one or nothing suffers burns. If you talk to emergency room personnel, you’ll be surprised at how many people they see during this holiday for injuries from fireworks. Make it a happy 4th!
While we’re cheering every new blast, many of our dogs will be cowering under the bed or in the corner. So take the time to find a calming medication, or check with your vet to keep those fears to a minimum. God Bless America.
This Wednesday, I was in line at a fast food restaurant, and there was a young couple at the counter who appeared to be checking every pocket to find some more money. Although I couldn’t hear their conversation, the girl had a worried look on her face, The gentleman who was next in line said something to the employee, and reached into his wallet. The look on the young lady’s face said it all. It was a look of relief, shock and smiles all wrapped together, as she thanked him while he just looked embarrassed.
That scene made my day a happy one. Little things mean a lot, and the couple who were given a gift of caring by a total stranger went away with a belief in the goodness of our world — and so did those of us who witnessed it. There were no big cheers, no pictures taken, no fanfare, just a time to reflect that there is still more good in us than there is bad, and we need to reflect on those things more than the headlines. Whoever he was, he is my pet person of the week.
Boy, it sure is neat to live in Porter County with all the freebies offered both by Portage and Valpo in their respective family oriented events. Founders Square Park in Portage and Central Park Plaza in Valpo have splash pads, movies, activities, and a center of activities for their cities. Put a circle around August 3 to enjoy Porter County Community Foundations free concert, Symphony Under the Stars at Central Park Plaza.
The concert, directed by Kirk Muspratt, will be offering every kind of music including patriotic music in honor of Indiana’s Bicentennial. It begins at 7:30 p.m. Bring your chair or blanket and enjoy an evening filled with the sound of music. In case of rain, the concert will be moved to Chesterton High School on Meridian Road and 11th Street. I just love living here, don’t you?
What excitement for the young swimmers from our area who made the cut to be part of the Olympic trials! It has to be the thrill of a lifetime to be a part of something so special, and just being there has to be an upper. For one young man, it is really special. Former Chesterton High School star, Blake Pieroni made it to the finals in the 100 meter freestyle, and by the time you read this he’ll know if he earned a trip to Rio as part of the U.S. Swim Team.
My heart just pounds watching these athletes on TV, so I can’t imagine what it must be like for the parents sitting in the stands. Congratulations to all the athletes who gave their all to make it to the top! Then when I learned that Andrew Luck, the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts signed a contract for $140 million dollars through 2021, it made me sad. The athletes who are thrilled with being amateur participants are required to raise the money for their needs, and yet one athlete is going to be paid such a ludicrous amount of money for a sport when there are children who don’t have enough food for a day, families who are homeless through no fault of their own, schools who are in desperate need of funding to educate our children, and funding for those things are constantly being cut.
Think about where our priorities should be, and then I hope you have a great day because you deserve it. Thanks for reading. Fly your flag.
Lorrie Woycik is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.
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