July 4, 2002
7/4/02 With the sweltering unabated,
With the sweltering unabated, we ditched the farm for a while and trucked down to the flooded ore pit next to Bish Bash Falls, where many of the locals had congregated for an intense holiday swim. We brought all the American items we could carry Fritos, a frisbee, Gatorade, Doritos and Coke. It was a decidedly un-precious 4th of July spent with ordinary farming folk, a far cry from what Sean and Michelle are doing right now in Napa Valley. It was sticky, people were yelling in different languages, and you could actually see young kids making those "summer acquaintance" relationships that you can take clear into college.
We brought the coolest thing, though. Baby Nora, child of Lorraine Tobias and Alex Draper, had her first public swim, and she was delightfully bewildered. The meanest strangers in the world smile at Nora. And you probably would too.
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mom Lorraine, baby Nora, friends Nell and Jesse after a dip in the mine