Saturday, July 04, 2026
Fourth and Down
It's sort of an odd Fourth of July weekend here in Chicago, alternating between extreme heat and thunderstorms in a way that makes it challenging to plan much of anything. We are heading over to a friend's house shortly with the stated intent of hanging out on their roof deck, but it could well turn into huddling in their basement to avoid advancing gale force winds. (Or a peasant revolt, which I would fully support.) Many recent years we've had family over for a holiday barbecue, but this year they have forsaken us for the glitz and glamor of Buffalo, so there shall be no hot dogs. I briefly considered buying potato salad and shame eating it all by myself, but that's so 2020.
Of course, we'll have to be home before dark so as to deal with the annual festival of dog panic induced by fireworks. Aubrey's hearing isn't as great as it used to be, so it may be possible to actually get her to go to the bathroom outside without her getting startled by an explosion and heading for the hills, but the other two are much younger and more insane. And Dolly has now decided to cultivate a trembling terror of rain (not thunder, mind you, just rain), so even if the fireworks are rained out we will still have that to contend with. Last night she hid in Ian's closet pressed up against the hamper because there was a downpour. All of this is entirely healthy and good, I assure you.
