Here's hoping, if you're a Yank, you had a good one. It was certainly good here in the cradle of democracy.
For me, Independence Day is a favorite holiday. My tradition is to spend the day chasing one interest after the next, and then as night falls, smoke a cigar, drink a glass of very fine, very old scotch, and read the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address.
Tonight Wife and I even added the community fireworks display, sharing the "oohs" and "ahhs" with several thousand fellow citizens. The night was without a cloud, the temperature warm and comfortably humid, our fellow Americans in good spirits.
If that's not cause for a favorite holiday, well, you shouldn't enjoy a favorite.
Some other things that make Independence Day special:
A Capitol FourthThis particular Independence Day is also special because today Michele and I started this web site. Without asking any government for permission. With access to a free press. Without fear of reprisal.
We could do so for two reasons: these people believed in ideas, and they believed some ideas are so important as to be worth extreme personal risk.
And finally, today is special because of this man's sacrifice, and the sacrifice of his peers. May their families find peace.
This is a holiday of fun, family, and fireworks. But it should also be a holiday, if only for a moment, of reflection. Here's a link to the Declaration of Independence. Read it. Start a tradition of your own.
Posted by Avocare at July 4, 2003 11:10 PM | TrackBack