Boston, Massachusetts
July 04, 2018
3:30 p.m.
Choreographed down to the second as it would be carried nationwide by all the prime time channels, the Independence Day celebration became theatre. Security had been very tight in recent years, and this year reached an even higher level. The Hatch Shell had been ringed with portable barricades and controlled entry points with metal detection portals. The gates opened at 09:00 a.m. with the seemingly endless list of prohibited items posted all along the perimeter: no coolers, no blankets exceeding ten feet by ten feet, personal articles in a clear plastic bag, no cans or bottles, and nothing that looked like or could be used as a weapon.
Those disappointed with the expanded rules elected to watch the festivities from the Longfellow or Harvard Bridges or even from the Cambridge Parkway on the northern side of the Charles River. Hundreds of others joined a growing flotilla that had gotten into the Charles River Basin before the narrow passage located south of the Museum of Science closed to boat traffic. Boat ramps to the west of the basin all the way to Waltham had similar restrictions imposed to prevent additional boats from being launched up river.
The small, densely packed city was traditionally overrun during the Fourth. With the President returning to his home town this year, officials estimated nearly a million people would attend the celebration. Bostonians asserted their rights and freedoms vehemently, especially when it came to their beloved sports teams and patriotic holidays such as Veterans Day, the Fourth of July and Presidents' Day. They quickly became indignant about their celebrations, and anyone trying to impose rules they did not agree with would be subject to loud verbal abuse. Escalation seemed evitable. If the consequence meant a night in jail, so be it. The attitude seemed unanimous: just don't mess with my holidays or my way of celebrating them. Most times, alcohol fueled the city's celebrations and led to all the bad things that go with it.