Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July

Citizens of the United States celebrate the writing and signing of The Declaration of Independence today.


At least one signer had the foresight about what it would mean to his countrymen --

"The day will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.

"It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward and forever more."

-- John Adams in a letter to his wife, Abigail, following the reading of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.





For many of us in San Diego, this is a day to go to the beach early, frolic in the waves with your kids, build sandcastles, bury the kids up to their neck in the sand, get snow-cones at the concession stand, walk up and down the beach looking for neat shells, roast hog dogs in the fire rings, have S'mores as the sun goes down, watch fireworks from across the bay, and arrive home exhausted and sunburned. That's the typical San Diego experience. Half a million people here will do it today - and the high temp at the beach will be 75F.

Our celebration of the holiday will be much more subdued, since our kids are gone and I'm very sensitive to the sun. I put up the flag. I'm going to blog a bit, play with Lolo, then I might work on my probate record transcriptions, and reflect a bit on the stories about the Revolution, my ancestral soldiers, the Signers and the Framers. I'll take a nap this afternoon to get ready for our big night out.

We're going down to church in the afternoon for a picnic (hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, dip, veggies, and ice cream), sit in the shade and talk/share with friends, and watch Lolo have fun with the other kids. About 8 PM, after the sun goes down, we'll look up and west - the country club next door has a decent fireworks show that is almost overhead! Then we'll drive one mile home - not sunburned, not tired, and watch the end of the Padres game. Life is a little more relaxed these days!

Whatever you do, I hope that you have a great time with family, friends or just yourselves! Do something fun and relaxing, and I urge you to reflect on the gifts of liberty and independence that we were given by the sacrifices of our forefathers and foremothers.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

Happy 4th, Randy, and thanks for all the links and support over the past few months. I grew up in Coronado, and miss my hometown every 4th of July. Being from a military town and military family always made the 4th special. We enjoyed the parades up here in NorCal today, but it's not quite the same. Cheers,

Jennifer

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

Happy 4th of July Randy!