Well, the second half of the year begins. I don't know about you, but for me the first half of the year builds towards Independence Day while the second part rises until Christmas. It's not the worst way to approach time.
I don't know how many days until Christmas; I'm not into it that much. It's simply the macro way I see the year. Works for me.
We're still a great nation which has done great things. While we have our flaws, and who isn't flawed, we exist as a beacon of hope for many. And we are certainly not nearly as bad as even too many Americans seem to think. But hubris, like all error, is endemic to the human condition.
So I'll grill today and then go see fireworks tonight, and be thankful for the blessings of being an American.
God Bless the USA. Happy Independence Day everyone.
A few weeks ago while in Heath, Ohio, the place of 'my' Rural King store (at least according to their website) I bought some pocketed tees which were on sale. I chose a gray one, a dark green one, and a royal blue tee. Oh, and a day glo lime green shirt.
At the time, I bought that last one because I thought it looked cool. Now, I'm thinking I made a mistake. The fit is all right, and I do like that it's wicking. But it may find its life carried on in the local Salvation Army resale shop just the same, because, with my body shape, I look like a phosphorescent tomato when I wear the dang thing.
Today is our actual Independence Day, though few realize it. The Second Continental Congress passed the resolution for Independence on July 2,1776; it's attached to the end of the Declaration. It's known as the Lee Resolution, introduced to Congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, and reads:
Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
It has a ringing quality all it's own, don't you think?
When John Adams wrote of the 'fireworks, pomp and parade' which he foresaw as future celebrations of our independence, he presumed they would occur on future July 2nds. Yet the Declaration of Thomas Jefferson took hold, and precedence deemed that July 4th should forever be the anniversary of American Independence.
There is today's history lesson for you, on this most, if forgotten, historic day.
We hear a lot about hoarders. Most of them seem to keep everything. Yet there are perhaps what I'll call limited hoarders. An old friend of mine, I'll call him Cloyce just to give him a name, might fit that bill.
Cloyce would change the oil in his cars himself. Fair enough; lots of folks do that. In his case, it was two vehicles; his and Mrs. Cloyce. That was it. And they didn't drive much. They might make 5,000 miles a year on each car, but that was about it.
One evening Cloyce asked me over to help with something, and we trounced down into his basement. You would have thought I was in the motor fluids section of an auto parts store, judging by the amount of oil and filters and anti-freeze, brake and power steering and transmission fluid which lined the shelves in a back room. If I had to guess I'd say there were about 50 cases of motor oil alone. "Why do you have so much oil and stuff, Cloyce?" I asked, actually somewhat in awe.
"I maintain our cars," he answered.
"Yes, but all these fluids for two vehicles?"
Cloyce responded, "I buy it on sale. Then it's there when I need it."
I protested, "Okay, but this much?"
"I never want to run out."
Trust me, folks. He wasn't going to run out in his lifetime. Nor were his kids. Maybe not even his great-grandkids. Cloyce had stored up a lot of oil.
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