Because one of my wife's dogs is terrified of fireworks, they send her into shaking fits where her body vibrates with the intensity of a buzzing bee, we have skipped out of Chicago the past few years to stay at remote Airbnbs. In Chicago, the explosions start well before the holiday and last a few days after. A couple of times we stayed in Brodhead Wisconsin on a lake nestled in a forest, once we picked a lovely lake residence in Minnesota but that experience was ruined by incessant jetski noise destroying any chance at serenity until the dark of evening when skeeters emerged by the gazillions. This year we opted for a residence in Southcentral Illinois. It was a rustic cabin on a large ranch with manicured lawns between many trees and included a pond where I fished. For the most part, we stayed at the cottage basking in the peaceful natural environs that are so different from the everyday hecticness common to chaotic Chicago. I had ample time to sit on the patio with a pair of binoculars to view birds while I explored the inside of my head for hours each day via the magic of written meditations and the burning of incense to carry the meditations into the universe. The writing meditations were interspersed with fishing, another meditative activity. It was a glorious week, one I could live over and over again...