This 4th of July was truely a unifying event!

kelmo

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Aug 27, 2004
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Sacramento
I got to spend my 1st 4th of July with my daughters. They are 2 and 3 years old, and after fostering them for the past year and a half we are in the process of adoption. We have a cul-de-sac across the street from my house and all the neighbors set up chairs and we pool our fireworks together and put on our own show. My street is like the UN, we have families from Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, India, and lots of home grown locals like myself (I'm a 3rd generation American, my family came from Japan). My wife is from Iran. Her sister's family stayed with us and my niece and nephew were part of the roving block party.

After our show we set off to see what the neighbors were doing. My niece is a shutter bug and was photo documenting the event. It is funny how a camera can bring down barriers. The first group we stopped at was about 20 Filipino youths setting off fireworks and doing what 16 year olds do. Gleefully dancing with pyrotechnics in hand. The next party was our Indian brethren, literally 2 houses down. They usually keep to themselves but when my niece started taking pictures they invited us over and they got me really drunk!

I know my next door neighbors and we often share a drink and dinner on occasions. But this is the first time I got to really talk too my neighbors down the street. We are always polite with each other and wave in passing but last night was special. I got to meet them for the 1st time.

It really makes the world a smaller place when we share our immense cultural diversity and relax.

I'm a proud American and I am proud to live with the people who call our neighborhood "HOME" wherever they may be from.
 
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