Happy Fourth — Go Dodgers!

A year ago today we were up in Troy, Montana enjoying an old-fashioned smalltown Independence Day parade and later an afternoon backyard barbeque by Susan’s Uncle Jim followed later by an awesome fireworks display launched from a park beside the Kootenai River (click to enlarge)…

that we watched from the front yard of Susan’s grandma’s house as if we were right underneath the light bombs bursting in air. Best Fourth of July Ever!

To celebrate this time around, we’ll be setting out at a leisurely pace around 4 p.m. for the two-mile walk to the Dodgers house from ours. And as it’s going to be exceptionally hot, we will be strategically stopping midway at Barragan’s in Echo Park for margaritas.

Though it will be decidedly cooler on the walk home I think a post-game/pyrotechnic display beer at Shortstop may be in order as well. Especially if the Dodgers beat the Braves. Which they will, of course. And the Padres will lose meaning the Dodgers will take over sole posession of first place in the NL West.

Pre-game item checklist:

• Transistor radio (tuned to KFWB 980)
• Compact binoculars
• Camera
• Tickets

The one thing I can’t locate at the moment is my Dodger cap and I — gasp! — have the sinking suspicion I may have sent it to Goodwill during a past closet purge, dammit! I just don’t see how I could do something so blasphemous so in the meantime I’ll have to go into full search mode.