While I was feeling a bit ambiguous about celebrating America’s birthday this year, habit ended up winning out and I headed down to Riverton’s parade. It’s always been a good time to bee with friends and watch three hundred and twenty-seven fire trucks march up the street. And it was fun this year as well, despite my personal reservations and the nasty heat.

The parade also allowed me to get the amazing photograph I’ve embedded below. A few minutes before the moment I pressed the shutter on this this photo, this young boy had spotted Spider-Man about a block or so away from our position. He took off for his hero without a care for anything else going on around him, causing his mother to chase him down the street. The boy was a good sport about being corralled back to his family’s position, though that might have been because his spontaneous sprint in 98 degree weather ¹ had sapped him of the energy to protest.

But the child recovered enough gumption by the time Spidey arrived at his spot along the route, and this time he reached his hero and gave him an unrestrained hug. It was awesome.