a town that prohibited fireworks, but in exchange for citizens honoring that, the city put on a huge, 45 minute long fireworks show either at one of the high schools or at a park.So whoever is in town for the 4th drives over to the site as the sky darkens, parks the car, and either sits on the hood/roof or sets up a picnic blanket on a patch of grass.Then you just lie back and wait for the show to start.It’s never guaranteed to be sunny in early July in the Pacific Northwest, though, so I have many memories of running for cover or not going out at all too.

Summer is when school lets out.When instead of a classroom, you head to the pool or to camp orof Netflix was Dear Frankie, a Scottish film starring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, and a young Jack McElhone.Wonder of wonders, I finished it in one sitting.I did pause it a couple of times, but for the most part it was straight through to the end.Departure from my normal viewing habits aside, it was a poignant, sweet and heart-rending film.Five out of five stars.Go rent it.Watch it.Cry a little bit.

McElhone stars as 9 year-old Frankie,a deaf boy who loves fish, and hates that his mother is constantly moving their small family around.Mortimer plays as the mother, who has told her son for years that his father is aboard the ship Accra, and writes him letters from this fictitious boat.When the real Accra docks in their town, she must find