Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City."

I have to concur with the clan from Illinois, Raig, Nancy, Amanda, et al, that the idiots can't wait to terrorize the dogs of the area. At 12:00:01 a.m. this morning, the "Patriots" couldn't wait to start shooting off the fireworks in their arsenals. Poor STWD was terrified all evening, and then once the idiocy started in earnest, she was quaking next to the bed. Her fears will be once again be manifested all day and into tonight as the "Patriots" can't wait to demonstrate that they are more patriotic than anyone else.

The "Patriots" can't wait for the GH sponsored fireworks show that starts about 10:00 p.m. tonight and lasts for about 45 minutes including the ground show. This annual event draws crowds of over 50,000 to our little city from all over the Tri-Cities area and much of Western MI. Also @ 12:00:01:01 this morning, people were allowed to place blankets or other markers in the city parks near Dewey Hill from whence the fireworks and the Musical Fountain originate, to mark their chosen spaces. The fireworks immediately follow a display from GH's own world famous Musical Fountain. Mary, Ginger and yours truly may walk down to Washington Ave. to see what we can see from near the manse.

Whereas STWD is terrorized by the booms, Ginger is merely curious. Then, we'll return to the front porch of the PE and watch the crowds take about two hours to leave "The City" by foot and automobile and return to their respective homes.

Speaking of July 4th idiots/idiocy, the public safety authorities were beefing up their ranks in South Haven to forestall the craziness that happened there last year. Unfortunately, the idiots moved to GH and our own Grand Haven State Park on the shores of the "Big Lake" and it took officers from our small city Department of Public Safety in GH, nearby Norton Shores, and the MI State Police to break up about 10 separate fights in a park where no alcohol is allowed. Normally, the GH Department of Public Safety does not patrol the state park, but the park personnel called for help when the craziness got out of hand. I've included a video feed from WOOD TV regarding the incident.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=fights+at+grand+haven+state+park#id=1&vid=80c627a5243078401ad030418b6313b7&action=click

The Rowdies were finally dispersed and returned to their cars near the YMCA and also the downtown area to depart for at least another year, we hope.

Trainspotting yesterday took on a new dimension. STWD, Ginger, Mary, my apprentice trainspotter, and I watched the southbound train go by on the RSTL @ about 10:50 a.m. yesterday. Locomotives 2019 and 2057 were heading south and in tow were one CHC, three DWTCs, and 23 DBTCs. Later, @ 4:01 p.m in the afternoon, Ginger came flying down the stairs to assist me in spotting those same two locomotives as they headed north towing eight CHCs, three DWTCs, and 55 DBTs.

As an aside, I heard one of the DBTCs squealing more than usual as it passed and I believe it had what trainmen refer to as a "Hotbox" which is a bearing lacking lubrication, on one of its trucks. I learned from Mary late last night, that that train sparked several fires along the right of way heading to Muskegon, north of GH. According to a story on the Grand Haven Tribune's website, the first call came in to firefighters @ 4:30 p.m. I am relatively certain that the same train was the culprit. I suspect that the "Hotbox" was sparking those fires. Not a good thing when the "Hotbox" was on one of the DBTCs filled with crude oil.

Sports news yesterday was relatively benign. Both the Cubs and the Tigers had the day off, so there was no change in their relative positions in their respective divisions. The 41 - 41 Cubs are still in 2nd place in the NL Central following their 6 - 2 win over the Reds on Sunday, while the 38 - 45 Tigers are now firmly ensconced in 5th place in the AL Central following their 8 - 11 loss to the Indians on Sunday. The Cubs play @ the Tampa Bay Rays today @ 2:20 p.m. and the Tigers are home to take on the woeful, 33 - 51 in the NL West, San Francisco Giants @ 1:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox took 11 innings last night to defeat the Texas Ranges 7 - 5. That finds the Sox a season-high 13 games over .500 in the AL East, three full games ahead of the Yankees. All good! The Sox and their left-handed pitcher, David Price, are in Texas again tonight to face the Rangers and their ace pitcher, Yu Darvish @ 8:05 p.m.

The Caps had a good weekend, taking two of three from the Great Lakes Loons and moving their MWL East record to 9 - 3, a full 2.0 games ahead of the Ft. Wayne TinCaps. The Caps are home tonight to face the Lansing Lug Nuts @ 7:05 p.m.

Elsewhere in the local news, we had our first outdoor cookout on Sunday, just before the rains came. With Mary's preparations and my grilling expertise, we had a great repast that consisted of roasted corn, roasted broccoli, and grilled vegan sausages that Mary had made the day before.

Here are some pictures of our first, of what we hope to me many more, outdoor meals.

The grill was hot and the various foods were quickly ready. Note my use of heat resistant gloves in the cooking process.

With all the condiments, like sauerkraut and jalapeno mustard for the sausages, the meal was perfect.

We have a current temperature of 65° under clear skies. Ginger was in to visit while I was writing this blog, but declined a trip to the great outdoors when invited. According to the forecast from the NWS, the high-temperature today is expected to peak @ 84° under sunny skies. The sun will rise @ 6:10 a.m. and set @ 9:27 p.m. In between, I'll be reading and playing with the girls, and Mary will be in the kitchen. Ciao.