This year’s Fourth of July feels more like a funeral than a celebration. Still, fireworks and fried chicken along the Delaware River offered a brief respite from watching the American Experiment fail.
I wasn’t planning on doing anything for the 4th, but on a whim I rushed down Elfreth’s Alley to see what was happening along the river; people had gathered at the end of Race Street Pier Park, enjoying the weather and the water, and the fireworks were already in progress when I got there. Being next to the Battleship New Jersey made the pier a great vantage point this year. The view from New Jersey must have been amazing! Maybe that’s what I’ll do next year, depending on the state of the country and which country I find myself in.
As people dispersed, I headed North on Delaware Ave. Other people stopped off along the way–at Dave and Busters or the Festival Pier (or whatever they call it now)–but Spring Garden was my destination. I was hungry, and gas station fried chicken seemed like a particularly American end for the evening.