Hope you had a great Fourth of July.
I know that we did since my daughter Chrissy is the party place for our family ever since she and her husband Jerry bought an awesome home that has a large piece of property and a 45-foot wide above ground pool, with a giant deck and gazebo at the same level as the top of the pool. They even got their cable TV line run out to the pool so we can watch a game there as well.
Fortunately, Chrissy is a bit like me—always happy to have a party and hang out with family or friends. She has taken over the role as hostess for big family events, even though the birthday parties are still the specialty for my wife.
But most of the summer, and certainly on the Fourth of July, the pool is the place to gather and we had a great time with kids, grandkids and others joining us for the BBQ and lots of other great food and snacks.
I was sitting with my wife during the afternoon and watching the kids and grandkids, all have a wonderful time in the pool with their games—they even had a Cornhole game that is made for the water!
But I was also thinking about how nice it is that we have so much family within minutes, and that we get together so frequently, even if it’s just for small things. In other words, we all look out for each other, and fortunately, all get along wonderfully with each other so that makes it even better.
Bottom line is that the Fourth of July made me appreciate my family as much as I was appreciating this awesome country we get to live in, even if things are a big tough these days in some ways.
Either you can constantly moan about all the “what if’s” in your life, and all the things that you worry might go wrong—and we will all have a little of that—or you can choose to be thankful for so much good most of us have.
And maybe that should include the idea of showing kindness or help to others in whatever way you can. I had one man tell me last week in an interview how important it was to actively look for ways to bless other people, since he knew how fortunate things were in his life.
Hopefully we can all work on doing that a little more.
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Speaking of great times on the Fourth of July, Slidellians had a ball of their own thanks to the return of the Heritage Festival in Heritage Park this past Saturday, and then the Olde Towne party on July 4 that had a massive turnout. Word is that the Heritage Park crowd was the biggest ever, and it’s a great event that raises thousands for charity groups here.
You have to give it to merchants in Olde Towne who are not sitting around waiting for someone else to help their business. Those owners really step it up to create events in Olde Towne and it not only helps all the businesses there, but is awesome for Slidell folks to go have a fun time.
I stopped by in the afternoon with the bands cranking it up right in the streets. The crowd was growing each hour from what I could see and it continued all the way until Monday night when the fireworks wrapped up a very successful day.
Props to the business owners in Olde Towne for creating a fun atmosphere in Slidell.
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And for one more great party…..
St. Tammany Chamber CEO Lacey Osborne tells me they are still selling tickets and accepting sponsorships for what promises to be a super party on Friday night, July 22 when the Southern Nights Gala is held as the major fundraiser for the Chamber all year.
This is really a “not to be missed” event that will be held at the former La Provence restaurant on Hwy. 90 between Lacombe and Mandeville. Now reopened as The Inn at La Provence, it is an events center for weddings and other special occasions. I made it out to the grand opening several weeks ago and the place is as beautiful on the inside as ever.
Southern Nights Gala is going to be a really fun night with casino type games, but also a fantastic lineup of restaurants serving some of the best food you will find on the North Shore.
Tickets are on sale for $250 per couple, or $150 for a single ticket, while sponsorship opportunities range from $500 to $5,000.
To purchase tickets, become a sponsor or donate an item for the auctions, go online to the Chamber website and locate the forms on the events page on July 22: Sttammanychamber.org
Kevin Chiri can be reached by e-mail at kevinchiri@gmail.com.