It's been so hot here lately in Southern California, and not only hot but humid. Nobody likes it much. Maybe the ones who do like it are afraid to admit it. We grumblers may just haul off & beat them up!? I remember, in the summertime in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, our family had a basement. That's where we'd hang out in the humid summer heat. We had a picnic table down there and we'd eat there, too. My dad wouldn't park the car in there during the summertime. He made the garage into a basement room. He added a big screen door area for the breeze to come in, like a patio door except with a screen and separate door. When my Conkle cousins and family came over, that was the area the men would play poker in, too. We kids would be outside playing badminton, croquet, flipping baseball cards, playing whiffle ball, tag, etc. My mom and Aunt Jean and Aunt Henri (the Conkle sisters) would be in the kitchen upstairs. Everybody would be smoking & drinking beer (everybody smoked back then) and the men would be smoking cigars as well. The poker would be "penny ante." On July 4th, we always went to Aunt Henri & Uncle Tom (Deakin)'s house in Canonsburg to watch the fireworks. They lived on a hill directly above the stadium, and the fireworks were wonderful. We had sparklers, too, and a cookout that included hot dogs (that I remember) and pop (soda pop). They had an old apple tree down in the bottom of the yard, and we'd try to climb that (it was hard to do, but my cousin Char could do it) and they had some plum trees that were smaller so we could all climb them. We'd play whiffle ball there, and my Aunt Jean and Uncle Jules would come with their two boys, Larry & Billy. They were around Char & my age, so we'd play together, too - mostly "freeze tag" and a game called "Cowboys and Indians"... Some of the Deakin clan were always there, too, and Dino would always bring his ice cream maker and make the best ice cream ever. Later, when Char and I were older, we'd be listening to 45's and showing each other dance steps, and she always had the neatest neighbor kids to hang around with. Gee, that was nostalgic! What do you-all remember about 4th of July celebrations (or any family get-togethers) when you were younger? jan