07/05/2002:
So yesterday was the Fourth of July. It is now midsummer. Orange baggie tours are winding down, and this weekend is Greek Reunion (well, officially "summer reunion" now) where hordes of students return for the weekend to booze it up on Daniel Street at Kam's and C.O.'s. Main thing is, avoid Daniel Street. However, most years before this big par-tay happens, the bars there repaint the exterior with a new color scheme. That part of it, for me, is a sort of sign of midsummer - what color will it be this year? That place is rather skanky and the outside gets looking shabby by around now, so the new coat of paint sorta refreshes things. Incidentally, Daniel Street is where the Champaign Espresso Royale is, and where I eat my homemade lunch daily, in front of the window, so I get to see these changes.
Yesterday I went to the Fourth of July Parade and had the perfect seat. The parade started at Nevada and Lincoln this year, went down to Florida Ave, then west to First Street over in Champaign. Where was I sitting? Hehehe. I was sitting behind the plate glass window inside the Cafe Paradiso, right there on Lincoln at Nevada, right where all the bands played, and most importantly, inside the air-conditioning. The parade started at 1 PM, and lasted the usual 2 hours... I'd gotten to coffee around 11, sat there reading, and was in place when it started. Definitely the way to do things, as the temperature hit 94F and the dew point was a pit-drippin' 71F. I had a grand view of the crazy ways in which people are taking to wearing the flag (literally as well as figuratively), including as deely-bobbers, and a nice view of some kids making a mint walking up and down the road with their wagon full of coolers of ice cream and pop.
After all that I went to the market and got some berries and cream, to make berries with whipped cream on them, there were blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, fit the color scheme and tasted good too. Went to a cookout at Zach Miller's house, then on to the city fireworks west of the stadium. The dewpoint was still up at 71F, it was totally tropically hot, but it was a good show.
