Happy Birthday America!

It's Independence Day! What a wonderful weekend we're having.  Celebrating with hotdogs, potato salad, watermelon, corn-on-the-cob, shrimp boils, lobster and clam bakes, cookouts, baseball games, horseshoe contests, parades, more parades, marching bands, clowns, old cars, bunting, flags, speeches, face painting, carnivals, water-skiing, sailboating, picnics, jogs, walks on the beach, walks in the woods, car races, rodeos, quiet visits to cemeteries, loud and raucous beach volleyball games, dog walks, fishing, kayaking, mountain climbing, watching the weather.

And then there's the fireworks display to end the glorious day.  Orange, and pink and green and blue and white and purple and red and yellow and bursting and spinning and falling and booming.  You might even be having your fireworks with an accompaniment of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" with cannons, or you might be watching lightening bugs in the silent woods.

Where ever you are, however you plan to spend this spectacular feast of freedom, be sure to take a minute to remember those who gave their lives so we could still enjoy this life. Let's remember those brave Founders who literally risked their lives when they signed that document in Philadelphia.  Let's remember those whose 4th this year will be spent in a hospital far from loved ones, or those who have recently lost a loved one.  We are a country so rich in its people, its resources and its values, that we can't afford not to celebrate, but we can't afford to forget either.