Happy 233rd Birthday, USA

I have been in a nostalgic mood for most of this year, not sure if it because of the big 50 that is approaching or thoughts of my mother. So as our country nears its 233^rd Birthday on July 4, 2009, I was thinking back over the different 4th’s that have been important to me. I came up with four that currently rank as what the 4th mean to me.

As a kid growing up in rural Southeast Missouri, the fourth was when the family would gather for a barbecue. Starting in the early afternoon with hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, fresh vegetables from the garden, watermelon, homemade pies and cobblers. Of course, the most important part of the day was at dusk. The kids having to take turns turning the crank on granddad’s ice cream maker. You know, we are still trying to locate that ice cream recipe, great-grandma just kept some secrets. When you completed your turn at the crank, you got your box of sparklers. The fathers would gather out in the field across from the gathering with all the fireworks and begin the show as we all sat around with our dishes of ice cream. Now those were great 4^th of July’s.

Then there was 1976 and our country was celebrating it’s 200^th Birthday as a nation. It was the summer before my Junior year of high school and every where you turned there were 1776/1976 posters. Red, White and Blue Banners, clothing, dishes, everything was patriotic that year. It was the biggest 4^th of July I can ever recall in our small town of Matthews, Missouri. Farmers decorated their tractors, kids decorated their horses or other farm animals, it was a time that everyone knew what it meant to be an US citizen.

After graduating from college, I lived a few miles from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, home of the Army’s 101^st Airborne division. I was able to attend a 4^th of July celebration at Ft. Campbell. It was the most amazing display of fireworks synchronized with military and patriotic music that I have every experienced. Laying out on a blanket in a large open field with hundreds of other army families and friends. I remember it was so amazing, it brought tears to your eyes with pride to be part of such a strong and proud country.

The last 4^th of July that is very important to me was in 2007. That was the last 4^th I had with my mother, I had not been in Missouri for a 4^th of July in over 25 years. Mom had told me how everyone still in made a big fuss on the 4^th of July and I was totally surprised by the evening that unfolded before my eyes. It was a bitter sweet 4^th because we were in the midst of dealing with my mother’s cancer and she was in bed prior to the fireworks that evening. I can honestly say I am proud to be from the heartland of this country. The display of fireworks that individual farmers and homeowners put together in the small rural part of Missouri was overwhelming. I sat in my parents front yard and had a 360 degree display of the most amazing fireworks. I took as many pictures that I could to show mom the next morning. The next day as I sat on her bed and showed her the pictures, I told her I was just amazed at how people in the area still pulled together for events like this. Her only comment was we may be simple rural folk but we are damn proud of who we are and the country we live in.

I pledged that the year of my 50^th, every holiday, including my birthday was going to be celebrated to the maximum. I am not sure how this 4^th of July will be celebrated at this writing. So here’s to your 233^rd Birthday United States of America. May you have another 233 more,with prosperity and pride.

Happy 4^th of July to everyone..