Relative Something

We are free of that oppressive king and no longer suffer taxation without representation, so celebration is in order. Our tradition is to don the colors of the day, representing the teams we will compete for in the 4th of July games: red for the bats team and blue for the mice. It’s bats versus mice in an all-out battle of racing, tossing balloons, and kicking shoes. The funny thing about this exercise of forming teams is that we never get around to keeping score and there is no team victory to be had. It appears to be important at first, but once the activities get started, everyone gets lost in the thrill of competing and forgets to make any final accounting of the results. I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that prizes tend to be distributed to all participants endlessly throughout the day. My favorite was the popsicle. I went back for a second one.

Waiting eagerly for the "fish-pond" to open beyond the tub of ammunition for the water balloon toss.

No tricks: this year contestants had to pass their balloon to the person next to them after each catch.

After the games, we meet at the lodge to feast. Appetizers out front before heading inside for the main course of chicken and ribs

Kicking shoes... pretty much requires some form of trickery