It was the era of having your youngest kids act as remote controls, always adjusting the sound, the contrast and of course the channel selection. It was the era of rabbit ears and just a hint of tin foil on each end of that monstrous contraption. But when the 4th of July found its way into our home and Yankee Doodle Dandy was screened just for that special holiday on local television we knew that at least in the 1950’s America and Pittsburgh we were just doing fine. I was sure James Cagney had been a signer to the Declaration of Independence.
It was a trip to Silver Lake Drive-In with special entrance passes given to us by my mother’s first cousin Charlie Katz. He managed the drive-in and made sure that on the 4th of July Howard Buncher and his family would feel like royally. Packing her home made corned beef sandwiches, home made dill and sour pickles, a huge slice of Rena Buncher chocolate cake with white coconut icing and at least four bags of salty, greedy potato chips my mother filled two picnic coolers with yummy fill your stomach food. Two features on the 4th, but between each movie were the fireworks. Nothing said America to the Buncher family in the early 60’s like homemade food, fireworks and a free trip to the drive-in!
It was the 70’s and during my career at the Pittsburgh JCC, for the year of the biennial I directed and choreographed the play George M, (but back in the day we kind of sort of never had enough money for the rights, so I kind of sort of changed the title and rewrote a bit of the play, calling it Dandy.) I had my kids (all teens from 9th to 12th grades) draped in red, white and blue, humming, hamming and enjoying all kinds of Americana. I was able to relive my youth from the 1950’s and hopefully present a very all American nostalgic look at our nation. I was keen on a part of America where I thought honest, effort and truth counted and made a difference.
When my own kids were young in the 80’s we decorated our home with more flags then one could imagine. Pittsburgh still had neighborhood parades and we all attended with hand on our hearts and a salute at the ready from our foreheads. Thanks to my Linden School music teacher Miss Marie Cyphers I knew all verses to every song about the flag and each and every song written to celebrate America. Adam and Dani, my kids also learned most of the lyrics so when it came time to sing along, the Buncher clan did so loudly and proudly.
Life for me changed in the late 90’s. Divorce, career moves and sadly the discovery that it was only gauze used to hide a lot of the truth’s about this nation. Wars were created, laws banning freedoms were formed and politicians only draped themselves in the Flag to hide all and any facts. The 4th became a long week-end to plan a vacation away. Yankee Doodle Dandy could be viewed on Turner Classic Channel,even colorized on demand. American songs were used to disparage the people considered not as American as we would like, and the Flag became a weapon against decent rather then its original use as a motivation for freedoms.
It is now the first few decades into the 21st Century. Today is the newest 4th of July this nation has to experience. It comes after a Supreme Court valued religious Liberties over women’s Civil rights. It comes after months of politicians ignoring a dying planet, the value of immigrants and their lives. It comes with a wanting to start another war and insisting that the Founding Fathers hated differences rather then embrace the beauty of we the people. I miss a nation of folklore, when waving a flag, singing a national anthem, sharing your food, watching all of the colors of the spectrum glow brightly together made you feel like an American. I miss an America of innocence replaced by ignorance. For those Americans who believe equality, freedom and justice is for ALL maybe this is the 4th to reclaim our nation from very scary devious enemies of the state. On this 4th lets begin believing “this land is your land and my land.”
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