Independence Day...
Most folks just refer to it as July 4th. Picnics, parades, fireworks. And so it has become, a celebration of an event, the magnitude of which escapes most people. Risking life and limb, and, most assuredly, neck, that brave assemblage of men, with broad stroke of quill, declared they would no longer toil under the reign of a foreign King, no longer be subject to the taxes and tariffs imposed by the crown, would dare to speak of freedom, of liberty, of Independence... and set in motion the formation of a Republic. Not a Democratic society, but a Republic. It is that solemn event we celebrate today.
Perhaps those men of '76 celebrated a bit behind the closed doors after the ink of the last signature was blotted dry, but I think the weight of their actions must have been overbearing. How many sat up that night, thinking of the consequences they faced if things didn't work out. I sometimes wonder how much ale, Sherry and wine was consumed that night, both as a toast to the fledgling nation and just to calm the nerves..?
Perhaps one day we will celebrate a second such event, when the thumb of our own government has pressed us down with it's weight for too long and for one time too many. Can we be so bold and brave as our founding fathers? Can such words be wrought in our own way and for our own time? I wonder less if they can be, than if they will be...
So, while enjoying your friends and family today, take a minute to raise a toast to those bold few who shouldered such a weight so that you can have what you do today.
God bless those brave souls and God bless America.


go ahead, make your day...