If you didn’t realize that the Fourth of July is upon us, you’ll likely know it by the ka-booms and rockets red glare Saturday when the city has its fireworks show at Santa Monica College at 9 p.m.

My friend Fran and I were strolling downtown, and she was telling me about a friend’s latest exercise kick: the good old-fashioned hula hoop. “It’s a great workout for the waist,” she told me. “She ...