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Sunny skies greet area residents Sunday, scattered showers on Independence Day

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On the Books: ‘Vanishing Girls’ is a decent thriller for young readers

This year marks my sixth happy &#8220;Un-Independence Day.&#8221;I got married on July 4, 2010, to Meg, who is gorgeous, tall and fiercely, fiercely bright.I was then and continue now to be one lucky guy. Talk about marrying up &#8230;The wedding itself was a relatively easy event compared to getting engaged.Meg loves waterfalls and what better setting than in the Poconos of Pennsylvania to find a waterfall where I could propose?Ring? Got it.Knowing what I was going to say? Pretty well rehearsed.Finding a waterfall. The Poconos is dotted with them, so I figured this all should be easy-peasy.But our route to getting engaged had a few detours along the way.My plan was for Meg and I to go exploring the countryside for a &#8220;unique&#8221; waterfall, that is, one that we had not visited together or one that we had not see in some time.Meg recalled a waterfall at the estate of Marie Zimmermann, who was famous for her metal works and jewelry design and who had a home and farm in what is now the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in the Poconos.Great!We can head there and then I can pop the question. And how perfect that Zimmermann was known for jewelry and I have a ring to offer.Surely this was a good sign, right?Except that Meg could not recall where exactly the Zimmermann estate was. She had been there many years earlier with a friend.Maybe it was this way.No. Wait.Maybe it was in the other direction.Or maybe &#8230;Of course, we were in West Nowhere and there was no cell service to be had so looking something up on our smartphones was not an option.Throughout though, Meg was carefree and enjoying the pretty scenery and pleasant drive.As for me, I was getting a major case of flop sweat from nervousness about popping the question and anxiety about finding a waterfall.This went on for the better part of an hour.By this point, I was ready to pull over, get on bended knee, use a watering can for a waterfall and declare mission accomplished.We pressed on if for no other reason than we both were now motivated &#8212; for different reasons &#8212; to find a waterfall, damn it!We visited a waterfall familiar to us, the one at Raymondskill Falls.It has a clearing where you can look out at the waterfall but there were some people hogging the spot where I wanted to be.Hello! People! Man on a mission over here!They finally moved. Meg was busy admiring the falls, which was my cue.I got on bended knee, and when she turned around, I held her hand and asked: &#8220;Will you spend the rest of your life with me?&#8221;&#8220;Yes, yes, with all my heart, yes,&#8221; she replied.And thus plans for a Happy Un-Independence Day were born!<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Christopher MeleMele&#8217;s Musings</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Christopher Mele is married and dad of two sons and two stepchildren. His childhood in the Bronx defined his friendships, which endure today. A career newsman, writer and editor, the Lords Valley resident is glad to share stories and insights about the challenges that the modern-day middle-aged guy faces. Reach Chris at seaosprey22@gmail.com.</shirttailMeta></div>

Mele’s Musings: Celebrating an un-independence day