Happy Fourth of July

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

I’ve always loved the 4th of July. Maybe it’s because my father, the veteran that he was, taught me to appreciate it. Or it could have been that my Uncle Bill was always Uncle Sam in their neighborhood parade (years ago). On my mother’s maternal side, all of her ancestors were here before the American Revolution, and some fought in it. One of my ancestors lost two brothers in the Battle of Brandywine. I think maybe that’s it, more than anything …. the fact that my ancestors fought for our independence as a country that makes me love this day differently than any other holiday. My flag isn’t up. I still haven’t figured out if they are allowed because I don’t see anything hung out on patios. That bothers me – my second 4th of July without a flag blowing in the breeze, not that there’s any breeze today, but that’s another story.

My family has celebrated in different ways over the years: picnics, barbecues, potluck dinners, parades, firework displays. I work tomorrow – so I’ll get home after 7:00, settle down and watch the celebrations on the TV. Not the same as years past, but the reality of today.





In the midst of your day tomorrow, don’t forget to stop and think about the lives that were lost to give us this freedom, to protect our freedom.

And also, take a moment to pray for those who are fighting for freedom in their own lands.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness