Walt Rubel Commentary: Keep it local for a joyous 250th celebration

The city always does it up right for the Fourth of July.

Well, almost always. There was that one time in 2014 when they had Don McLean playing an acoustic, solo set at The Field of Dreams,right after they had put in new turf, so everybody had to watch from the stands. But, for the most part, you can rely on the same thing every year, the Electric Light Parade on July 3, then the concert on July 4, followed by the fireworks show.

This year’s headliner will be 49 Winchester, a country rock band from Virginia.

But the real star is always the fireworks show. I have no doubt that the Fourth of July in Las Cruces will be a loud, raucous, communal, joyous occasion this year, just as it has been in past years.

But, I have no such optimism when it comes to how our sesquicentennial anniversary will be celebrated in the nation’s capital. It certainly won’t be communal.

The original plan included a series of  concerts from June 25 to July 10 featuring acts that were popular in the 1990s. But the bands backed out when they learned that the event was going to be political and not celebratory..

The highlight of our nation’s official July Fourth 250th celebration will now be a political rally in support of the president, featuring Lee Greenwood and Christopher Macchio, who will grace us with his renditions of “Nessun Dorma” and “Ave Maria.” So, make sure to tell the kids.

“In celebration of our Country’s 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, :Live, the Greatest Rally, EVER! It will be special at every level - A Rally to end all Rallies!” the president promised in an online post.

Maybe, if we’re lucky, he will explain to us again the intricate semantical process required to come up with the word “dumbocrat.” Spoiler alert, it involves changing the “e” to a “u”. And, you have to remember to add a “b,” Most people don’t know there’s a “b” in the word “dumb.”

To be honest, landmark anniversaries like this really don’t mean that much to me. I don’t expect the 250th to feel much different than July Fourth of last year or the one coming up next year.

But, it is getting to be exhausting. We can’t even have something as simple as a unifying celebration of our founding without it being overshadowed by the insatiable need of one man to make everything about him.

As for our local celebration, this will be my first Fourth of July with Godzilla, my new dog. He seemed to do OK last week during the thunderstorm, but I’m worried about how he’ll handle the fireworks.

City laws limiting residents to “safe and sane” fireworks that don’t go “bang!” are as ignored as incoming phone calls marked "potential spam.” In past years, when it was dryer, I would write scolding columns and editorials trying in vain to shame folks into following the law,

A few years ago, I decided that if you can’t beat them, join them. And so, now I typically watch the pyrotechnics from my front yard until things quiet down. Then I go to bed and curse the explosions in the middle of the night.

I may be doing the same thing this year with a frightened dog lying next to me.


Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected].

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