As you read this, we are either on a plane to Seattle, at Dulles Airport waiting to board the plane, or on our way to Dulles in our 6:50 a.m. Uber. After a night in Seattle, we (and two daughters, one son-in-law and our son-in-law’s mother) will board a Holland America ship and head north to Alaska. It hit 102 in Washington today, and Juneau’s high was 48. Quite a difference.

I had to go to the bank yesterday, and the young, earnest and friendly bank employee asked me, “So what do you plan to do this weekend to get out of the heat”. You can imagine his reaction when I casually said, “Actually, I am going to Alaska”. He then asked me what I liked better, the hot or the cold. I was honest with him, telling him that when it’s hot, I love the cold, and when it’s cold, I wish it were hot.

After our week in Alaska, we are planning another week, driving through the upper northwest, where the temperatures will probably be in the 80s. Our suitcases are filled with t-shirts, shorts, and winter coats.

We board the ship Saturday mid-day, and we don’t have any idea (since it is the 4th of July) whether or not we are going to treated to any celebratory events, on board, or visibly on shore. The sun does not set in Seattle until after 9 p.m. and my guess is the ship will be at sea before that. So we will see what we will see.

I do like fireworks, although I generally don’t go out of my way to see them, as I often did when younger. We used to go down to the Mall every year, with the kids after we had kids, for the concert on the Capitol lawn and then the fireworks. It was a great tradition. Crowds with kids and great-grandparents, everyone in a good mood, good music and and a beautiful display to end the evening with the 1812 Overture and The Stars and Stripes Forever.

But along with destroying so much else in federal Washington, the president is also destroying the traditions that Washingtonians followed for many decades on the 4th of July. For one thing, the 4th of July concert is being held on the 3rd of July, devoid of fireworks. For another, even though it is being held on the 3rd, it is still being called a Capitol Fourth, and my guess is that those who watch it on PBS as it is shown again and again will not realize that on July 4, the west lawn of the Capitol was silent. Thirdly, if you go to the concert, you will not see any fireworks, but if you watch it on TV, you will see fireworks, but the fireworks won’t be from their usual place just off the National Mall, but will be telecast live from Mt. Vernon. You can’t see fireworks at Mt. Vernon from the Capitol; they are over 35 miles apart.

There will of course be fireworks Saturday night on the Mall, but instead of starting at about 9 p.m. as is usually the case, they will be starting at 10:45 or 11 p.m. and last not for 20 minutes or so, but for about 40. And of course, the National Symphony will not be playing before the fireworks display, since they will have played the night before, but those who come to see the fireworks will have the oportunity to sit through a speech by President Trump, which promises to be 45 minutes (or longer). So, kids, when your parents tell you they won’t bring to down to the mall to see fireworks this year, I hope you will understand why.

Trump keeps talking about how beautiful he has made Washington DC, and it should be beautiful on the 250th birthday of the country, but remember, we have the White House grounds torn apart by the now possibly halted for the time being construction of the Ballroom, the south lawn destroyed by the savage UFC fighting exhibition, the ellipse destroyed by the crowds who came to the fight, the Kennedy Center looking semi-abandoned and in financial distress, the Reflecting Pool is destroyed and off-limits to the public, at least one of DC’s public golf courses destroyed, Dupont Circle and certain other parks are secured by metal fencing, the mall placed out of bounds by the failing Trump Freedom Fair, and streets near and far closed for the festivities. Yes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

As we cruise north from Seattle, we soon leave the country and enter the territorial boundaries of Canada, which never celebrates on the 4th of July, and this year certainly won’t, and it will be after July 4 by the time we are back into United States waters and Alaska. None of this bothers me. I am not celebrating the 250th. I see no reason to. If the Dems gain control of Congress next January, some celebrating may be in order. If they take control of the presidency in January 2029, the celebrations will be gargantuan.