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Walkabout Journal
Let Freedom Ring
It was the 4th of July in
At
The concert is free to the public, first
come first served. The number of people allowed in the oval is
limited. We were probably among the last to be wrist banded for
entry, and we were there before
We were definitely latecomers. Tents and
canopies of all shapes and colors were set up all over the oval.
We heard that people actually camped overnight to get prime
spots for the concert. The crowd spilled out of the oval and
spread along the riverbanks. Sound towers were set up along the
Esplanade as well as in other parts of downtown
The day was clear, sunny, and warm. A
refreshing breeze came off the Charles and perfectly moderated
the temperature. We had a lot of rain during the past week, but
today would be perfect.
With our wristbands secured, we left the
Esplanade and drifted into downtown
If I thought it was crowded before, I
had to recalibrate when I saw how much denser the crowd had
become. People and
families were frolicking about, waiting the start of the
festivities as recorded music broadcast from the sound towers.
The Esplanade is three miles long. Looking in both directions, I
saw no open areas along the riverbank. The TV announcers
estimated the crowd to number a half million. From my
microscopic view, I agreed.
We
went back into the oval and found a spot against the back fence.
A nice young couple graciously relinquished part of their
blanket space so we could fit in next to them. We were about a
hundred yards from the band shell, almost front row seating when
you consider the scale. The figures on stage looked tiny,
smaller than ants. The huge monitor screens on either side of
the shell would be our visual reference for whatever was
happening on stage. Even those screens looked small.
We munched on a dinner of popped kettle
corn and washed it down with a Cuban mojito (a lime rickey with
mint). Things got under way sometime after
It started appropriately enough with the
Star Spangled Banner played by the US Army Herald Trumpets.
Trumpet solos stir the spirit, and when presented by a platoon
of accomplished musicians the music moves to new heights. The
final notes had barely settled as a flyover of F-15 Eagles
coursed diagonally overhead and headed up the Charles.
Craig Ferguson MC'd the show, and
introduced Neil Diamond as the featured artist along with the
Boston Pops orchestra. It has become customary for the Sox fans
to sing along with Diamond’s "Sweet Caroline" during the 8th
inning of a home game. As he sang the chorus,
"Sweet Caroline,
a group somewhere in the crowd behind us started chanting "so
good...so good...so good" during the interlude. On subsequent
choruses, more people would join in on the chant. It finally
worked up to a point where everyone was on their feet, chanting
and waving and screaming “so good…so good…so good”. Diamond took
the cue and kept repeating the chorus. The crowd fervor never
diminished. I have no idea how that song works into a baseball
game, but what would you expect from a BoSox bystander anyway?
The Pops Orchestra accompanied a 10-year
old girl, Oladunni Oladipo, as she beautifully sang the Pledge
of Allegiance. That was followed by the 1812 Overture, complete
with a real barrage of 105mm artillery from the nearby
riverbank. The program moved into a sing-along of patriotic
songs - Yankee Doodle, Grand Old Flag,
Then the fireworks gala started, and
went on…and on...and on. Boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom-boom-boom! It
seemed to go on forever. The concussions were enough to re-pace
your heart. You could probably read a newspaper by the light of
some bursts.
The show was over by about
As we flowed along Beacon, I watched a
tributary crowd emerge from
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