I had the wonderful chance to watch 1776 live in our local theater - our opera company put on a really good production. More than half of the audience were wearing red, white, and blue, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the theater when they invited us all to stand and sing the national anthem before the show started.
No personal fireworks - our state is tinder-dry right now - but there was an airshow, and fireworks put on by our city, and a parade in every city and town in the vicinity, just about. At least half of the businesses on Main Street were swathed in bunting and flags. Flags everywhere!
We had a family pancake breakfast, and a cookout, and played a trivia game called Celebrate America. And I took this chance to read the Declaration of Independence.
May our United States of America continue for another 250 years, and beyond, blessed with the wisdom to preserve our liberties and remembering always that our unalienable rights come paired with solemn responsibilities!
I've spent a nice quiet morning to mid-afternoon editing a story (still needs more work) while my wife has been doing errands. Not looking forward to tonight when all my neighbors let loose with the artillery and once again try to burn down my house.
My son who served in the Marines and suffers from PTSD and his dog aren't looking forward to it either.
Last year was the first year I didn't find the remains of unwanted fireworks on my front and backyard on July 5th. We'll see. Will be celebrating with my son and his kids tonight so it'll be a little different. Happy Fourth.
Went okay. My wife and I went over to our son's for a barbecue then we went home to wait for the sun to set. Went back over for fireworks and navigated the "streets of fire" back to our house. People seemed to run out of steam by midnight so we were finally able to sleep. House didn't burn down which is always a plus. My son seemed to manage the fireworks okay but his dog was a nervous wreck.
I had the wonderful chance to watch 1776 live in our local theater - our opera company put on a really good production. More than half of the audience were wearing red, white, and blue, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the theater when they invited us all to stand and sing the national anthem before the show started.
No personal fireworks - our state is tinder-dry right now - but there was an airshow, and fireworks put on by our city, and a parade in every city and town in the vicinity, just about. At least half of the businesses on Main Street were swathed in bunting and flags. Flags everywhere!
We had a family pancake breakfast, and a cookout, and played a trivia game called Celebrate America. And I took this chance to read the Declaration of Independence.
May our United States of America continue for another 250 years, and beyond, blessed with the wisdom to preserve our liberties and remembering always that our unalienable rights come paired with solemn responsibilities!
How wonderful. We were watching the movie today. My husband saw the original theater play back in 1776.
Still Becoming
The mountains hug around us.
Older than memory. Older than nations. Older than the names we gave ourselves.
Two hundred and fifty years— a lifetime for a country, a heartbeat for the earth.
History is measured less by years than by what one generation places into the hands of the next.
Many of us carry the memory of wandering.
Perhaps that is why we know the difference between ownership and belonging.
A country cannot be owned. Only cherished. Only tended. Only borrowed for a little while.
We have never been a perfect people. Only human— capable of astonishing kindness and astonishing harm.
Still, tiny flowers bloom between stone and drought.
The desert has never confused hardship with hopelessness.
Each generation is asked:
What did you do with what was entrusted to you?
I hope we recover. I hope we become whole.
May we remember:
the earth does not belong to us.
We belong to the earth.
May we leave this beautiful land more whole than we found it.
And when history calls our names,
may we answer—
Hineni.
Here we are.
Still becoming.
Laurie S. Sherman
I've spent a nice quiet morning to mid-afternoon editing a story (still needs more work) while my wife has been doing errands. Not looking forward to tonight when all my neighbors let loose with the artillery and once again try to burn down my house.
My son who served in the Marines and suffers from PTSD and his dog aren't looking forward to it either.
I hope it turns out to be unexpectedly quiet.
Last year was the first year I didn't find the remains of unwanted fireworks on my front and backyard on July 5th. We'll see. Will be celebrating with my son and his kids tonight so it'll be a little different. Happy Fourth.
Hope it goes well!
(Our fireworks got rained out, but we had a lovely cookout with friends.)
Went okay. My wife and I went over to our son's for a barbecue then we went home to wait for the sun to set. Went back over for fireworks and navigated the "streets of fire" back to our house. People seemed to run out of steam by midnight so we were finally able to sleep. House didn't burn down which is always a plus. My son seemed to manage the fireworks okay but his dog was a nervous wreck.
Glad it was better than it might have been.
Prayers for the peace of mind of the dog!
And a Happy 4th to you as well.
Technically, Virginia's Resolution on Independence was passed on the 2nd. The Declaration was adopted on the 4th.
My country was destroyed in 1865. Bankers always get their way.