Feature

Courtesy photo

My father Tom Dromey savors the Fourth of July in 1976 within the Forest Park area of Springfield Massachusetts at the Phillips residence.

By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER JoyFul Musings

Happy Fourth of July to all Joyful Musers. Writing from the North Shore of Massachusetts it feels fitting to say Happy Fourth of Coli as recent sewage issues leave me cautious yet the day remains warm sunny and ideal for marking 250 years whether or not one enters the water.

Happy 250th America. I recall the Bicentennial celebrations clearly in 1976 when I was thirteen and preparing for eighth grade at Holy Name School in Springfield Massachusetts. Neighbors hosted a large cookout and my father relaxed in his vintage folding chair enjoying a Chesterfield on his day off. Son of Margaret Donovan Dromey who arrived from Cork Ireland with her husband Patrick he grew up sharing the living room couch with his two sisters after his brother John passed in childhood. He held deep affection for the Fourth of July education his family and his country.

If Tom Dromey were alive today he would be 99 years old. Yet having died from a heart attack at 55 he would not have been a good 99. He could not swim never visited the dentist never owned jeans and used baked potato skins as ashtrays after our nightly dinner.

Still America and its history enabled his children to learn swimming to have personal beds to obtain advanced degrees and to mark 250 years with liberties many around the globe lack. Two hundred fifty years represent countless days of effort sacrifice and labor. All six of Tom Dromey children remain alive beyond 55 can swim attend regular dental checkups wear jeans and to my knowledge avoid using potato skins as ashtrays.

Birthdays deserve celebration regardless of mental state global conditions or beach water quality. Following the Bicentennial I entered eighth grade and asked my social studies teacher to address me as Ms. Dromey just as our platform shoe wearing lay teachers preferred the title for themselves. I appreciated that gesture as it nurtured a sense of confidence and freedom that has endured for five decades. I honor my nation and mark its birth because it has granted many the assurance and liberty denied to countless others worldwide.

Are we flawless? Certainly not. Yet are we advancing? Absolutely. Happy Birthday America. Stay steady and perhaps by the 300th anniversary I will be a good 113. I muse joyfully as you mark your nation your decisions and your day. Happy Fourth and Happy Birthday.

Susan Dromey Heeter writes from Newmarket and often from the road where she joyfully muses on life in the fast and slow lanes. She drives a stick shift can also ride a unicycle and recently retired after more than thirty years of teaching. Dromey Heeter finds joy primarily in Milk Duds and people who make her laugh not necessarily in that order. Follow Susan at dromeyheeter on Instagram and or at BudgetVogue63. She can also be reached at dromeyheeter@gmail.com.