As is tradition, I celebrated Independence Day by journeying up to Blaine, the place of my childhood, to sweat in the 100-degree heat and laugh my head off with Jodi Hanson and her family.

I only see Jodi and her brood once or twice a year so we have to back a lot into the day, bouncing from topic to topic in ways that make absolutely no sense. So I present to you a short list of things I was right about:

• That “I Will Always Love You” was, in fact, used in the movie “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
• The proper pronunciation of the word “conch.”
• How we should have used napkins instead of giant plates for our little pieces of cake.
• That, indeed, the 40s were 70 years ago (math for the win!)

I was wrong about one thing though, the pointy-ness of alligator snouts. Oh, and that gnocchi was spelled with a K, but blame that one on momentary heat-induced stupidity.

Besides being right (and quite cocky) about thing, it was pointed out that I spend a lot of time talking The Fungus Gnats. I was surprised to learn that not everyone is as fascinated by The Great Infestation of 2012 as I am. What’s wrong with people?