..And the Rockets Red Glare…

We watched the night sky come ablaze with color last night. Almost 300 million of us somewhere across this land. From Selma to Spokane to Canonsburg and Bangor, did we watch with awe and celebrate another one of America’s birthdays. It’s a day like no other, when language barriers and ethnicities, prejudices and dislikes are put aside.It’s the pride and the heritage that bring us together, no matter where are ancestors hail from. That doesn’t even enter the picture on this day. But what does seem to be the common thread that permeates the masses is food. It brings us together. Talk centers around it. Stories are shared amongst it and the smells permeate our senses and offer that euphoric feeling all is right with America. It is in fact, the single most important factor, such that we stand guard, protecting the cuisine, and assigning patrols to make sure that all goes well. There is no talk of politics, parties, and candidates. We are all just one-Americans, laughing, playing, eating and singing, and enjoying one anothers company. We bring our children up from the time they are small to understand this celebration in order for it to be carried on for decades to come. They may not understand at the time but its the memories that they will carry through the years, again to be handed down from generation to generation. This has always been a day for me much like Christmas. The camaraderie, the family, the food, and the goodwill shared by all of us. In fact, my roomate just returned from a surgical stint that saw a plate and six screws mounted to four cervical joints in her neck. This all the result of a prior auto accident. Undaunted by the pain, she braved the masses and the discomfort to accompany me to town for the festivities, albeit, she still appears a little shell-shocked from the anesthesia.I even persuaded our youngest, daddy’s girl, to visit and enjoy the evening. And to her surprise she became just as enthralled with the meaning of the American spirit as we were. She has inherited most of my genes gone bad but every once in a while I find something good I bestowed upon her. She gets all the credit here for the photos. I hope you like them. She’s picked up the “photobug” and it brings a belly laugh to me to watch her in action.She may never work for CBS, nor do any free-lancing of her own as her calling is to be a teacher. And that she does so well, even teaching her parents new things all the time. But isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be-we know we are doing something right when the teacher becomes the master.Enjoy your picnics……be back tomorrow!!! �