Happy Independence Day!
We began our celebrations last night on July 3rd with the Turley fireworks display on our street (Fireworks are legal in Fairfax). We made “cowboy burgers” and my favorite Fourth of July treat (cherry pie). It was an enormous success as I set off roughly the equivalent of the ordinance used at the Battle of Verdun. Putting aside the increase of emphysema following the display, it was pretty cool. Tonight we will go to D.C. to watch that other (less impressive) pyrotechnic display.
I hope all of our bloggers have a great holiday.
Happy 4th everyone.
I tivoed the History Channel’s 6 hour special on the revolution. Groovy. Here’s hoping they spent more than 15 seconds on Arnold’s treason.
Gnome 1, July 4, 2009 at 7:46 pm
AY, with all due respect, and I do respect you, that paste up is a mixture of true and false information.
Mea Culpa if it is incorrect. The Beer part to Buddha is as accurate as I can know.
AY, with all due respect, and I do respect you, that paste up is a mixture of true and false information.
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp
The real facts of independence are impressive enough without mythical embellishments.
This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let’s also remember the remarkable story that led to this day.
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when a courageous group of patriots pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the proposition that all of us were created equal.
Our country began as a unique experiment in liberty — a bold, evolving quest to achieve a more perfect union. And in every generation, another courageous group of patriots has taken us one step closer to fully realizing the dream our founders enshrined on that great day.
Today, all Americans have a hard-fought birthright to a freedom which enables each of us, no matter our views or background, to help set our nation’s course. America’s greatness has always depended on her citizens embracing that freedom — and fulfilling the duty that comes with it.
As free people, we must each take the challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own. As long as some Americans still must struggle, none of us can be fully content. And as America comes ever closer to achieving the perfect Union our founders dreamed, that triumph — that pride — belongs to all of us.
So today is a day to reflect on our independence, and the sacrifice of our troops standing in harm’s way to preserve and protect it. It is a day to celebrate all that America is. And today is a time to aspire toward all we can still become.
With very best wishes,
President Barack Obama
July 4th, 2009
P.S. — Our nation’s birthday is also an ideal time to consider serving in your local community. You can find many great ideas for service opportunities near you at http://www.serve.gov.
SW Mom,
Lobster screaming as it hits the heat. Hummmmm, ok count me in. So how is Boulder today? Happy 4th of July.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free!
I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. It’s time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than Beer, picnics, and baseball games.
Buddha this one is for you: Liquid Cereal
Link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art36037.asp
Beer • brew | Da’ Instigator | swill | brew juice | barley juice | barley soda | wallop | suds | brewdog | brew-ha-ha | who hit John | hop juice | liquid sleep | wine’s poverty stricken brother | formula for naked frat fun | the key to malty man love | barley in a funnel | post-party cologne | reeb (beer spelled backwards) | steam (Old West Coast term for beer made under primitive conditions) | the remedy for empty bladder syndrome | the blood of the brew dude | the bridge the I crossed to losing my job | gold elixir | brewski | cold water sandwich |