The Star-Spangled Banner...and the Fourth of July...for me.

HOT DOG!!

WhattaGREATFourthofJuly!

I went sailing with friends, on a windy lake and sailed over to watch the fireworks from the lake! 

How about you? 

What did you do? 

Did you have a BBQ? 

Or a Picnic with family and friends?

Fourth of July! It brings with it memories of former 4th of July experiences of the past, doesn't it? Every year, don't you remember the fireworks and sparklers from childhood. The warnings from our moms to be careful with those things, right?  Setting off Bottle Rockets and Black Cats,  right?  Lighting them out in the street and running to the sidewalk to plug our ears and watch. Our mom's covering their ears and moving inside to have ice tea and watch us, like mothers, through the living room windows. 

Did your mom open the window every five minutes with some safety warning to scream about? 

Did she yell at your little sister to get away from the boys? 

What about the crowd of men, mostly Dads, who gather around the BBQ pits? Arguing about techniques for building a good BBQ Fire...and now, they talk about their different grills, right? Because now nobody really uses charcoal any more. How boring is that? 

Makes you long for charcoal again, doesn't it? I know I prefer charcoal grilled burgers and dogs, but that's me. 

Veggies on the grill? Never as kids, right? and Now? 

Feels good, doesn't it? Fourth of July? There isn't a lot of religious meaning attached to it, just history ...and it's a history we all share, as citizens and kids in America. The history of how we became a people who celebrate our Independence on BarBQ Grills, with hot dogs, sparklers, bottle rockets, hamburgers, fireworks galore and lots of beer! ...we're descended of men and women who fought to win this for us. 

I always think about the scene painted in our National Anthem, when it comes to the Fourth of July. The battle scene...Boston Harbor, the tattered flag, the rockets red blare, the bombs, 

"...Gave proof through the night...that our flag was still there..." 

That Star-Spangled Banner...that flag that we fly on the Fourth...those colors that we sport...I don't think many of us don't think of that image on the Fourth. 

What's your image associated with the Fourth of July? 

Love and Laughter,
heidi