The Fourth Of July
©1999-2022,2023DianeDisanno
Written By:
Diane Disanno aka Bright Eyes
And Told By:
Grand Dog Tiki Santiki Shadow
He could hear the sounds of the fireworks going off.
From the window he could see the roman candles and rockets bursting and lighting up the dark sky.
The loud sounds went on and on until very late that night of July 4,1975.
He became very frightened of the loud sounds on that very hot July night.
He became more and more uneasy.
He went into the bathroom and turned the water on himself.
He decided a shower was what he wanted.
After his cool shower he was much calmer as the sounds had started to stop.
Then without any warning,one of those very loud cherry bombs went off!
Then one of those trash cans went off followed by a M80!
The loud sounds were coming from right below his windows.
He just couldn't take it any more!
He jumped right through the screen door and onto the patio and then over the railing.....!
He just couldn't take it anymore.........! ! !
Even though it was the night after the Fourth of July,the smell of gun powder hung over the neighborhood.
It was one of the disadvantages of living so close to the park.
Every year on the Fourth of July the park smelled as if it had gone back in time and became a battlefield during the civil war.
The Family decided to go for custards at Carvels.
The children jumped into the back seat of the car and Grandma and Grandpa sat up front.
It was late but it was a very hot night so they wanted to go for a drive to cool off.
They were on their way back home and driving on Metropolitian Ave.
They had just entered the roadway that went through St. John's Cemetery.
Grandma had asked Grandpa to look into his mirror and tell her if there were any cars behind them.
Grandpa told her that there were no cars behind them.
Grandma then told Grandpa that since there were no cars coming in the other direction
and no cars behind them....... to slow down and turn his headlights off
as something just crawled out from underneath the cemetery fence.
Grandma told me that she can still hear those little voices from the backseat of the car that said,
"Ma !"
"It's the day,after the fourth of July,not Halloween !"
" Stop fooling around,you're not scaring us !"
" We're not afraid of cemeteries!"
Then,Grandma said,"another little voice from the backseat said,
"Ma!"
"I can see it !"
" It's in the middle of the road now and it's just waiting there."
Grandpa had stopped the car !
There were no other cars around,just the long road up ahead.
Everyone in the car saw it now but they could only see a very,large black space in the road up ahead.
They were to far away to make out what it was.
Grandma said,that when it craweled from underneath the fence,
it moved onto the road and sort of collasped in the middle of it.
There was only one thing they could do!
Grandpa took his foot off of the brake and put it on the gas pedal.
Very slowly, he drove up the road.
Someone was in trouble and they had to help them.
Grandpa kept his lights off and very slowly he drove up the road.
Grandpa stayed in the car with the children while Grandma got out of the car.
Grandma had to see what had collasped in the middle of the road.
When she got up closer to it...it got up very quick and went right past her and straight to the car.
Grandma had left her car door open when she went to see what was in the middle of the road.
By the time Grandma got back to the car.....it was in the car and sitting in her seat!
There was this little but very loud voice yelling from the backseat of the car.
"It smells!"
"It's all wet!"
"Get it out of the car! "
" It hasn't rained for days!"
" Why is it all wet and covered with dirt ?"
They told me that Grandpa was very quiet when Grandma returned to the car.
His first words to her were...."Please,tell me it's not a bear ! "
They have told me many times how big it was....
It was just sitting there with it's big head bent down onto Grandpa's shoulders and neck....
One of it's super duper large paws was around Grandpa's shoulders and holding onto him.
It just sat there!
It wouldn't move and it wouldn't let go of Grandpa!
"Ok,bright eyes.....what do I do now?" Grandpa had asked Grandma.
"Is,this thing,going to bite me?" Grandpa had continued.
"Well,first.....put the headlights back on." Grandma had told him.
"It seems to like you,so I guess,it won't bite you!"
"I don't know what it is but it loves you!" Grandma had told Grandpa.
One of the children had asked her what will we call it?
"I,guess,we'll just call it,"It" for now" she had told them.
The children were told to be very quiet,as Daddy had to drive the car home with "It" holding onto him.
So,Grandma squezzed into the front part by the front seat as "It" took up the whole front seat.
Grandpa very slowly drove them home with his new friend.
"It" just sat there and "It" didn't move.
When they arrived home Grandma got out of the car and opened the fence to the back yard.
As soon as the fence was opened,"It" jumped out of the car and went inside the fence....
"It" laid down and started to go to sleep.
"It" was home and "It" knew it!
The rest of the family came inside the fence and one of them locked the fence up.
They went into the house and "It" stayed in the yard.....
After all it was late and "It" wanted to go to sleep.
"It" was big,black,wet and "It" smelled.
"It" was theirs now !
The children got "It" a blanket to lie on and a big bowl of food.
Some bones and a big bowl of fresh water.
Each member of the Family gave "It" a piece of their clothing with their scent on and told "It" Goodnight.
Each one gave "It" a kiss Goodnight.
One of the children had asked if "IT" was a girl or boy?
Grandpa told them,they would find out the next day as all "It" wanted to do was go to sleep
The next morning the children collected the combs and brushes of their three male German Shepherds.
Next the shampoo,hairdryer,towels and flea soap.
"It" was going to get a bath in the yard as "It" was covered with mud.
After the bath....."It" was beautiful and it even had white fur on its face.
"It" was so big........and yet so gentle with the children.
In a book the children found its picture...."It" was a Alaskan Malamute !
It was a few days later that they saw the ad for a lost Alaskan Malamute in the newspapers......his name was "Tiki".
Grandma called the people that had placed the ad.
Grandma,Grandpa and the children called to "Tiki" and he jumped into the car and sat next to Grandpa.
Again,with his head on Grandpa and his paw around him.
The owners of "Tiki" gave the children a $100 reward for finding him and giving him a bath.
The owners had told them that when the heat would be to much for "Tiki" he would go into the shower.
With his paw he would turn the water on himself...
The noise of the fireworks were really bothering him that July 4th night.
"Tiki" had gotten out of the shower and they were going to towel dry him.
The cherry bombs,trash cans and the m80's were going off right under their windows.
"Tiki" became very upset.
He jumped through the screen door and went over the railing and down into the street and ran.
They ran down the stairs and spent the whole night seaching the streets for "Tiki" but they couldn't find him.
"Tiki" most likely ran to the cemetery a few blocks away and went in to get away from the noise.
Most likely,he hid in a open grave.
"Tiki" was such a gentle dog for one so big.
He did,look like a big black bear Grandma had said.
For once a lost dog had a happy ending.
"Tiki" had "Good Luck" and was returned to his owners.
The Family never forgot him.........
Written by:
~*~ Diane Disanno ~*~
©1999-2018DianeDisanno