Fried Clams

From my rooftop in Oakland one can see legal and illegal fireworks displays all over the bay area which last well into the night. It has to be one of the best spots in town to see the pyrotechnics, there are easily 10 wonderful displays going on at once and you get the added attraction of watching drivers cram through the streets. Somehow as I get older special moments like fireworks still make me smile but also inevitably remind me of how much more it fun it all was when I was a kid. My family used to vacation in Maine every summer. The fourth of July always meant going to the parade in Bar Harbor. We would watch the marching bands and floats pass by and pick up candy thrown to all the kids. But the highlight was always the fried clams which were passed out in paper baskets. To a kid standing around waiting and watching a parade for hours there's nothing better than someone giving you free fried food. Later in the evening my dad would drop my mom, brother and I off downtown so we could sit by the water and watch fireworks shot off from the sandbar. After the show we would meet up with him just outside town so he could avoid the crowds and traffic. I don't remember much else about those parades but every Fourth of July I have a yearning for fried clams.