the bithentennial

My fellow Americans, hope you all had an enjoyable 4th of July however you celebrate. 250 years young.

I, for one, am old enough to have been around and remember the bicentennial in 1976. My main memory of that celebration was that, at school, we took a special class picture in the spring. We were told to dress in red, white, and blue.

JUST prior to that photo shoot, I had broken my two front teeth in a glorious skateboarding incident. I put on a fave red, white, and blue button-down shirt and took up my place in the far right of the front row. Several of my classmates - part jokingly, but not really - gave me pointers on how to "smile" for the photo. Basically, they said not to.

I recall my two front teeth being a jagged mess. I didn't know what to do with my face for photos. In fact, other than the x-rays at the dentist, I doubt any other photos of me were taken during my "toothless era" .

It wasn't until I was seated among my classmates, facing the photographer, that I realized I should've come up with a face strategy rather than put all my efforts into what to wear. 

Then *FLASH*, the deed was done. 

The result was not awful, I suppose. My fellow middle-schoolers and I, in our red, white, and blue, flanked by American flags, holding a "1776 ~ 1976"  banner. There I was on the end of the first row, my face slightly turned, giving a side-eye, mouth slightly opened in a confused not-really-a-smile. 

I no longer have that photo, but I can picture it in my brain. In hindsight, my look was much like this now-famous meme kid, except brunette with worse teeth.

Now, here we are, 50 years later. If any kid found themselves in a similar circumstance this year, how lucky are they?? The look is all the rage.

My timing was off by just 50 years.