Well, that was an interesting 4^th of July! Most of the recent holiday was pretty normal for me – a quiet, leisurely day, then over to Santa Clara’s Central Park in time to hear Deja Vu, a high school jazz band, entertain picnicking families from all across Silicon Valley who were enjoying a beautiful summer’s day and awaiting the evening fireworks. I chatted with a number of people I hadn’t seen in quite a while, and then, when Deja Vu was done and the next band was preparing to take the stage, I headed over to the parking lot at the adjacent elementary school where several of my friends had been parking cars all day as a fund raiser for the Schools Foundation. I was surprised to find that they had already completely filled the huge, grassy lot and had posted “full” signs at the two entrances. So I kept my friends company while they made sure no cars parked in front of what would become the critical exits as soon as the fireworks were over.  Continue reading →