I was invited by neighbors to join them for hamburgers, hot dogs etc. and then the fireworks.  I accepted.  My neighborhood really loves the 4^th of July.  We all kick in money and then someone goes and buys fireworks (out of state so we get the “good stuff” that goes BANG/BOOM).  Anyway, I was sitting around with my friends and their children and the kids’ friends talking.  I don’t know exactly WHAT I said but the young girl (woman) sitting next to me says “Oy Vay” and I completely cracked up.  You see, she’s Chinese ancestry, born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and fully Americanized—even to the extent of using a Yiddish expression with complete accuracy and tone.  Only in America.

English: Fireworks on the Fourth of July (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then we all started talking and comparing family notes.  My hostess’s family came to the US on the Mayflower; my host’s family came over in the early 1800s.  I’ve already identified the young guest; I’m a first generation Jew and my ex-wife’s family came to the US in 1691 and my girls are members of the DAR, the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Dames of the Magna Carta (their mother’s family set this up for them).  Only in America.  And only on July 4^th!  Is it any clearer why I love this country?