Hey Everybody! Just got back from my first round of fireworks tonight inmy mom's old hometown. I love fireworks. Matter of fact, there's not much about the 4th of July that I don't love. Parades, fireworks, people...community. (I'll get to all that later.)

This Fourth of July I was struck by a new sensation. Sadness. As I was watching the fireworks, I was humming along the Star Spangled Banner. The line sticking in my head was the "Buncha Bombs in the air". (Um sorry, Leslie Nielson gets me every time...Bombs bursting in air.) Right now, there are 20 year olds living with fireworks, or the threat of fireworks, every night. People over in foreign countries fighting, with the threat of bombs taking their lives every night. Yet here we sit, watching them explode above us for fun. Ooooo....Ahhhhhh. I also reflect often on people like my father. Veterans of wars for whom fireworks aren't fun. For whom the reinstitute nightmares of nights when, instead of oooo-ing and ahhhh-ing, they were running and praying for their lives. And I'm sad I lived to see a new generation of people who might also fit into this category.
Of the state of America on the whole.

Tonight, though, I'm reminded of exactly the things about Independance Day I love. A chance for us to celebrate the freedoms and liberties we are afforded by people we never met. A chance to watch fireworks and remember those veterans who served so I wouldn't have to; those who fought and represented the pride in America. The bonding of communities as they gather together to parade and celebrate - to show their pride for our country. Most of all, 4th of July gives us the chance to appreciate what we have and hope that one day - of their own choosing, other countries, other nationalities get a chance to celebrate it themselves.

Have a Happy Independance Day Weekend!!!!