Happy Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July was always a nice holiday. It celebrates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, in 1776. It comes during the height of Summer, so it carries with it memories of pleasant celebrations as a child and as an adult.

For some, it meant a trip to the beach, maybe to watch a fireworks show. Or to one of the theme parks, Coney Island or Disneyland. Or if you loved baseball, doubleheaders, now mostly a thing of the past, as the franchises can make more money on individual games, than on the larger crowd you might get for playing two games in one day. But there are still plenty of baseball games on all day.

It is still close to the longest day of the year. Time to barbecue, sit outside and spend time with family. And of course there is the celebration of American independence, The Stars and Stripes Forever. I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.

I hope everyone enjoys the Fourth in some way, whether it is watching one of the fireworks shows on television, or having family visit, or watching baseball, or one of the TV series telethons, or just not going to work.

As to the meaning of the holiday; where we are as a nation in our 247th year, we can think about that, or put it aside for right now. America has stood for something, and maybe that will carry us through. Independence. Liberty. Freedom. Democracy. Those are of course words, and they can be misused or exploited. But I think that there are still many millions of Americans who know what they are supposed to mean, and don’t want them to just be meaningless words.

Enjoy the holiday! Before long, it will be time to vote for our American democracy!