I was born on July 1 and rumor has it that, when bringing me home from the hospital on the 4th, my parents stopped for a while to watch fireworks over Centinela Park. I have no recollection of that ride home but I do remember Centinela Park. It was a great picnic park with a HUGE playground. There was one section with two giant hills with a rope strung between them. You would grab the rope and run up one hill and then swing across to the other hill. There were other fun places to explore and children to play with. We were allowed to run all over the park while the adults prepared picnic lunches for us.
Today the park is called Edward Vincent Jr Park. I suppose I'd discover the hills and rope have been dismantled; a child might fall and get hurt. Children will be cautioned to stay in sight - and to stay away from strangers. But I believe that, somewhere, there is a little girl and her brother joyously running through that park, making new friends and climbing up the hill to swing on that rope. When they are worn our and hungry they'll enjoy a picnic lunch with their mom - maybe Oscar Mayer hot dogs! And later, when it gets dark, they'll sit in the car on a hill and watch the fireworks.
Happy 4th of July!
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