A Memorable 4th of July

My mom was going to have a baby. I would have a brother or a sister somehow. How it was to happen I hadn't a clue. Then all of a sudden I'm hauled off to Nanny and Pop-Pop's and told not to worry, it will only be a few days and then we'd all be together again with a new baby. I had to leave Whee-Zee behind. I'd be sleeping in a strange bed in a room without my cowboy wall paper. I loved Nanny and Pop-Pop, but what were the rules? Visiting and playing there were one thing, but living there?
Nanny's house was radically different from ours. Her house was crammed with old dark furniture, and everything seemed covered with doilies. She had a large cuckoo clock whose ticking made me feel like the house had its own peculiar heartbeat. The fun stuff was all there too. The toys from Pop-Pop and Uncle Pat and Nanny was a delight all her own.
There were so many grandchildren for her to remember that when she tried to call your name it would go something like this: "Billy,uh Charlie,uh Danny,uh,JIMMY, come with me." She would get to you sooner or later.
Nanny had a pet parakeet named Billy. Billy had the freedom of the house, and he perched wherever the action would be. He talked and chattered and preened. He'd land on Nanny's shoulder and give her a kiss. Billy could say,"Pretty boy,pretty boy." He'd land on your shoulder,inch up closer and then bite your ear!
Nanny would continue to try and con you into eating food under assumed names.
She'd tell you liver was steak, Tang was orange juice, corn fritters were pancakes, and she tried to pass off corn syrup for maple syrup. She would burp,too. I mean belch really loud with no excuses.
In Nanny's eyes all her grandchildren could do no wrong, so if you had to stay somewhere,Nanny's was the place to be.
I could sleep and eat at Aunt Sissy's house too. That meant I could sleep with my older cousins Danny and Kenny and Ronnie. Their bedroom was on the third floor,garret-like and full of big boy trophies and model cars and airplanes they had built. I could play half ball and ride bikes and play war with a whole new band of kids, and there were even dogs to play with too.
That first day was the Fourth of July. The special significance of that holiday was lost on me then, it would take on a different one in the years to come.
That evening Nanny was walking me down to Aunt Sis's house when a train began to come down the nearby railroad tracks. I was petrified. "Hurry up Nanny!" I cried. I knew that monster thing was going to leave its tracks and come crashing down on me. I scrambled up the front steps to Aunt Sis's, leaving Nanny far behind. Later that evening when the sky was dark the fireworks went off and scared the crap out of me even more.
The next morning came the news; I had a baby brother. They would name him Carl, after Uncle Pat. Uncle Pat's real name was Carl, he was nicknamed Pat because he was born around St. Patrick's Day.
A brother! A playmate! Somebody to share in my world.
He would be born on a day of celebration and fireworks exploding in the sky.
His life would be like those fireworks.
He would burst into life, shine briefly on the earth, and just as quickly, he'd be gone.