My "Independence Day"

Summer 1996

During the summer of 1996, I was taking a couple of classes at the Eastern New Mexico University of Roswell. There were only 3 weeks left of school for that semester to be over. I had taken English 104 and Math 110. Math was no big deal t me for it’s my favorite subject ever. English, on the other hand, was the subject I was having trouble with. Most of the final grade was based on a research paper due at the end of the course. I love to write, but not when it comes to something I have no choice over waiting. Nevertheless, I was very stressful.

July 4th 1996

It wasn’t until the 4th of July that I started to give some thought about my soon due report. Every time I thought about it, I got more stressed. That was not the only thing running through my head, though. There were other few problems I was having with my family, church, and even myself. I had not eaten anything that day; I was starving. Most of the times that I get stressed out I either eat too much or hardly at all. I also like to spend time by myself when I feel down. I just want to be alone, and have a chance to reflect on my problems.

Before sunset, my friends Luis and Blanca called me and asked me if I wanted to tag along with them to buy some fireworks, and then go to see the fireworks’ show. I agree, since I had nothing better else to do. Besides, I was not feeling my greatest, and knew that I needed to get my mind off my disrupting thoughts. Luis picked up Blanca. Then he picked me up. We went to buy the fireworks as planned. After that, we drove directly to the place where the fireworks’ show was going to be. Lots of people were at the site. We all wanted to see the fantastic promising show. It was already getting dark. The crowd was making some kind of noise in sign of desperation to see the fireworks. The show finally started; everyone was very happy. In fact, that show was one of the best ones I had ever seen then in my life. It was very colorful. They burnt a lot of new types of fireworks. Nobody got hurt. Everything went as planned. The show was a great success. I was glad that my friends had picked me up. For an instance, my mind was clear, which it was good. After the show, my friends decided to go to my house and burn the fireworks we had bought. We had all kinds of fireworks. It seemed as though we were having our own little show. A few neighbors came to see and gathered around; others were watching through their windows.I had not yet realized that July 4th was going to be one of the days that I would never forget. It was not for the fact that it was the USA’s Independence anniversary but because of the significance in my life.

After we finished burning all the fireworks, my friends left home. Shortly after that, my stomach started making some noises, which clearly reminded me that I had not eaten yet. I went inside my house directly to the kitchen to check the refrigerator for food. To my "luck," there wasn’t any prepared. I got in my truck and drove to Burger King. I ordered their #1 without pickles–that was my favorite meal from them. After I got my food, I was driving while thinking on the place to go and eat my value meal. As I recalled earlier, I wanted to be by myself for some time. I remembered about Cahoon Park. I had gone there before and noticed that place was somewhat dark, quiet, and overall seemed perfect for me to have some time for myself after eating.


.......to be continued (go to my Photos and look for Joseph from Roswell. The story picks up there.)