Wonder Years Fourth Of July Parade Taking You Into The Weekend

Narrator: The next day, Winnie and I came home, back to where we’d started. It was the 4th of July in that little suburban town. Somehow though, things were different. Our past was here, but our future was somewhere else. And we both knew, sooner or later, we had to go. It was the last July I ever spent in that town. The next year, after graduation, I was on my way. So was Paul. He went to Harvard, of course. Studied law. He’s still allergic to everything. As for my father…well. We patched things up. Hey, we were family. For better or worse. One for all and all for one. Karen’s son was born in that September. I gotta say, I think he looks like me. Poor kid. Mom, she did well: Business woman, board chairman, grandmother…cooker of mashed potatoes. Wayne stayed on in furniture. Wood seemed to suit him. In fact, he took over the factory two years later, when Dad passed away. Winnie left the next summer to study art history in Paris. Still, we never forgot our promise. We wrote to each other once a week for the next eight years. I was there to meet her, when she came home, with my wife and my first son, eight months old. Like I said, things never turn out exactly the way you planned. Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day, you’re in diapers; next day, you’re gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place…a town…a house…like a lot of other houses; a yard like a lot of other yards; on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is…after all these years, I still look back…with wonder.

Son (off screen) : Hey Dad you wanna play catch ?

Narrator : I’ll be right there

You asked for more Wonder Years , you got it. RIP Jack Arnold and screw the writers for not having Kevin and Winnie marry each other. Something my father protested via his league fantasy baseball machine by stating he wouldn’t make a trade until they re-wrote it. Spolier- he eventually caved.

In all seriousness, The 4th will always be one of my favorite days of the year. Of course for what it symbolizes for our country but more so for how much emphasis was put on spending it with people you love. Years down the road , I won’t remember the traffic , or how crowded things were , or that it rained one year. I’ll remember my family and my friends. And I think that clip above symbolizes everything that’s right about the 4th of July and what it means to spend it with your family. I hope your weekend is spent surrounded by the ones you love.

Enjoy it. Gob Bless America.

-Rico Bosco