new thread
So what did you do on your 4th of July?
For our friends around the world it's just another Saturday
doesn't matter though I'll pose the question to everybody.
Below are a few pics of me and one of my mate Ray at the beach
Cheers and Happy Saturday.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Wow you friend Ray's hair has got long indeeed and a great inspiration to out community here. You should ask him to post more often.
Not a normal Saturday here and was good to talk to you earlier today and have been to the pub tonight and seen some great bands. Saturdays are always different...even if the chimps are in town at Wimbledon...ooohh ouch!
Cheers,
John.B
Well, I for one was still out on the road. I did finally get home about 9pm saturday night. I actually was planning to work the whole weekend but I got to come home anyway. Oh well, just means an extra day off. What a crying shame...lol
Daniel
Happy Independence Day Kevin, nice pics.
I just spent time with the family, lighting off fireworks, then went to the local show.
Just watched fireworks locally, and then went home to listen to the concert and watch the fireworks on TV.
To be honest, I am very ambivalent about July 4th. For those who don't already realise this, I am a Brit living in the USA, and have lived here for nearly twenty years. I love the fireworks and listening to brass bands playing American patriotic music by Jon Phillip Sousa. OTOH, everytime one of the 'founding fathers' is mentionned, well sorry, to me they were not patriots but traitors, LOL! Your national anthem is about a battle, and the enemy was us!
Of course, it was all a long time ago, and many Brits do become naturalised Americans. Not me, though. I'm happy to enjoy the day, but that's as far as it goes.
Close relatives can fight the fiercest battles sometimes but it all worked out, eventually! Maybe we need a British/American friendship day, no hard feelings ? :)
Personally, most of my ancestors crossed the Big Pond after the Revolutionary War. So I would consider you just as American as myself, regardless of citizenship status.
You do bring up a good point though. The "founding fathers" never were and should never be associated with loyalty to a country. What they should be remembered for, is standing up for their principles. Principles against searches and seizures, principles against having to be makeshift quarter houses for soldiers, principles against having their guns taken away, principles against paying taxes to support Imperialism halfway around the world. Were they patriotic? Absolutely not, as Englishmen they were traitors. But living in a world very different from Europe, they gained their own ethics which clashed with the rule that they were under. And they put their lives on the line(no pun intended) to abolish, what must have seemed more and more to them, foreign Aristocracy. So for that, I do admire them.
I do agree, actually. They had very high principles. Of course it is easy to see them as American patriots if you forget that America only came into existence later, but that is rather forgetting the whole point. They themselves knew exactly what they were doing, as best shown by Benjamin Franklin's often quoted words: "We must hang together, or we will most assuredly hang separately". The fact that they were traitors to the only country that they were citizens of at the time is routinely glossed over, but it actually is important because it shows the extent of their courage. If they had failed, we would have hanged them.
An interesting take on the whole thing, and one not often thought of. As they say, history is written by the victors.
Exactly, what bothers me is the "dissent against the government means you should move to a different country" crowd insistence of calling them Patriots. They were rebels, not loyalists.
Very nice pictures, Kevin. What lake is this? Is it Lake Michigan?
As for me, after the obligatory 4th of July lunch at my mom's of barbecued chicken, ribs, baked beans, and the like, I came back home and cleaned up the house all afternoon and then until 10:00 PM. Got a lot done and it looks a lot better. I had been neglecting cleaning the ceiling fans. I didn't have time to take the stove and oven out from between the cabinets and clean under and behind it. That is quite the nightmare and a task for another time.
We were at Harrington Beach State Park (Lake Michigan)
It was a beautiful day.
And the deer were everywhere and not bothered by humans
Hey great pictures, the beach looks like a great place to think and get away from it all, quite peaceful. The hair is awesome too!
I had a quiet 4th, went for a nice walk as we had perfect weather, had dinner with a friend, watched the fireworks on tv from the national mall. Nothing special
Hi Kevin,
It is always a pleasure seeing you sharing some photos with us, and what outstanding hair both of you have, and beautiful weather and scenery in your part of the world. I am delighted that you had a wonderful July 4th holiday!
I really should apologize for my low hyperboard activity level recently, but I have had a lot on my mind, and only returned home a week ago.
Take care,
David
For my 4th of July, we went up to my grandparent's cabin, which is also on the beach, except it is on a little lake. It was a decent 4th of July, and there were a lot of fireworks on the lake. This year, however, my grandma is recently put in a nursing home and could not make it to the cabin (although she is recovering from a blood clot in her lungs).
Matthew
Here's hoping everything turns out good for your grandma.
Took the family down to the county fairgrounds to watch the fireworks. Surprise, surprise, they actually happened on time (they've been rain-delayed for the last four years). Met up with some friends and had a great time!!!