The American Flag on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July

A Poem

From porches and poles of the greatest height,
Unfurl the stripes of red and of white.
Let her wave and sing in the breezy air,
As the stars of glory wave high up there.

Give thanks to all those who gave so much,
for the freedoms and rights we love to clutch.
To soldier, to patriot, to all those who fought,
in the past or the present, your gift isn’t forgot.

For each time that great flag flies up upon high,
on the 4th of July with hotdogs and apple pie,
we’ll take a moment to remember and reflect,
to celebrate and honor with the greatest respect!

Happy 4th of July to one and to all,
Many thanks to those who elect to stand tall!
To stand for freedom by gun or by protest.
Thank you for your bravery and your zest!

~ Springwolf © 07/2014

Freedom doesn’t come free. While you celebrate this weekend, remember all those who came before us and sacrificed so much. The men and women of our armed forces of course! But don’t forget those who put all they had on the line for you. The founding fathers, the families and the patriots who stand tall, who fight with their voice or their pen. It takes more than brute force to make freedom remain free. It takes a nation of people from sea to sea.

So make sure you exercise your freedoms each day. Not only on the 4th, but each time of the year when your voice can be heard. Many have died for your right to sing out. So show your respect, not in hollow words of thanks or waves of recognition. But where it counts most, in the town hall meetings, the city square and the voting booth. But do it with dignity, civility and respect. For those who came before you didn’t die to promote hate. They gave of themselves, their family and fate, so all could be free in the land of the brave!

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We had a lovely night. The boys got the fire started to drive away the bugs in time for a beautiful sunset and a night of competing fireworks from the neighborhood. One sign the economy is recovering a little for some folks, there were a lot of big fireworks around here. There’s also been a lot more boats in the water. Now if we could get in on this recovery, everything would be ok.

But that’s a different story. This is about fireworks. So here are a few of my favorite pictures from last night.