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The Fourth of July remains the perfect holiday at the halfway point of the year. During the day, you see a delectable spread of ribs, chicken, baked beans and potato salad. Fireworks fill the sky at night. 

For the seventh straight year, I experienced Independence Day in Tuscaloosa. Selma is only an hour away from my hometown. Between firework shows between Valley Grande and Orrville, my taste buds were filled with food cooked by my older sister. Her food was so good that I made a plate to eat the next day before it disappeared.

I use the same approach when taking my vehicle to get repaired at the auto shop: arrive early for satisfaction. If not, you’ll be disappointed.

Kudos go to Publisher Brent Maze for making this happen. Maze covered the Selma festivities, giving me the time to do this. I’m sure you’ve heard the classic Meatloaf song, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” That applies here.

After we put The Selma Times-Journal’s weekend edition to bed on July 5, I returned home to celebrate the rest of the holiday weekend.

I continued the barbecue theme with a meal at Full Moon’s restaurant, my usual space after attending an Alabama football game in the fall. If anyone in Dallas County ever visits Tuscaloosa, I highly recommend Full Moon’s.

When I went shopping for a friend’s birthday gift at University Mall, I ran into a couple of former Selma High School football players, brothers DaKaari Nelson and Dion Nelson, with their friends. 

What a cool moment. I’m looking forward to seeing DaKaari Nelson play at Penn State and Dion Nelson at Alabama A&M in the fall.

Another highlight was running into an old high school classmate. We hadn’t talked in a few years. In that span, our lives had changed drastically and it took us a while to catch up. 

The Fourth of July was an enjoyable holiday for me. 

James Jones is the managing editor of The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at james.jones@selmatimesjournal.com.