Would you like a heart by pass with that?

4th July 2013

Technically this blog covers the evening of 3rd July too but is about 4th July.

So yesterday evening we went to dinner at the house of new friends. We had a great time with them and Tom and I were amazed and humbled to hear of their time working as missionaries in a rough part of Baltimore. Living opposite a crack house. This would have scared the dickens out of me but they were matter of fact about it and in fact probably would have stayed longer if it wasn’t for starting a family.

They live near the large YMCA sports complex in Mooresville and a large Firework display is held there on the evening of 3rd July. Which is why we’d been invited when we were.

Before the display we took a walk around. There were the usual stalls you find at such events selling t shirts and cheap toys. And there were also a wide selection of stalls selling snacks. Our friend took us to a stall that was selling “Deep Fried Oreos” (cookies beloved by Americans) and “Deep Fried Kool Aid”. Our friend insisted we try the Deep Fried Oreos. Four of these biscuits were dipped in batter, deep fried and then dusted with icing sugar. (Dusted is a slight understatement; this was not so much a dusting as an avalanche.) I ate one and Tom tasted a quarter of one. I was the polite Brit and ate it all and pronounced it “Quite nice” whereas Tom said “That’s disgusting” which was closer to the truth.

Our friend then told us when he’d visited the State Fair last year he’d seen a stall selling “Deep Fried Butter”. It makes the Scottish delicacies of Deep Fried Mars Bar and Deep Fried Pizza seem very boring in comparison.

(I couldn’t figure out the Deep Fried Kool Aid as Kool Aid is a drink. All I can think of is Kool Aid is mixed in to the batter somehow.)

We walked back to our friends’ house as we’d be able to watch the fireworks from their back garden. Unfortunately, just as we gathered outside it started to rain so we watched the fireworks in warm rain. (To be honest although I enjoyed the fireworks I enjoyed seeing Fireflies more. I’d not seen these before.)

Today we’d been invited to a family 4th July party at a friend who owns a property on Lake Norman. And it was a lovely relaxed day. We spent time chatting to some very interesting people including a man who is a former soldier from Texas and who was World Bull Riding champion twice. And has the scars to prove it. We also met a lady who comes from Canada originally but is married to an American soldier.

This is probably the longest I’d spent talking to a Canadian and I’d not realised how many links Canada retains with Britain. For example they spell words such as “Harbour” with the U in place. They have Boxing Day on 26th December. She painted such a great picture of Canada that I want to visit sometime. I wonder if they do exchanges?

Sadly about 5.30pm as were about to sit down by the lake to eat a thunder storm arrived. everyone grabbed something and we went up to the house and set up in the large double.

I got the impression that 4th July is a time for family and we certainly were part of the extended family today. And as always we were well fed including some fantastic slow cooked brikset complete with a Texas barbeque sauce. Mmmm!