Fourth of July

Another 4th of July holiday has come and gone. I was really wanting to get down to see my mom so we went down that morning and stayed all day. We bought some fireworks (got a great deal, too!) so Nathan would have something to do and keep us all entertained. It's been so hot and dry lately so it was inevitable that we would set some grass on fire. They were all small enough for us to just stomp out with our feet. It's amazing how quickly stuff burns when there's no moisture!

Mid-afternoon we headed down to the town's center for the parade. A great thing about small towns is that they still throw tons of candy but you're not fighting 40 other kids/parents for the same tootsie roll. Blake got hooked up big time! That night, we went to LeFlore High School and watched the town firework show. It's no big city display but it's just as fun seeing how excited the boys were watching them burst in the air.

Then at church, I learned something new. A gentleman whom I cannot remember his name for some reason at this particular moment gave a talk. In this talk he told a story. The story was about Francis Scott Key and his writing of our national anthem. He said that the soldiers did everything they could to keep the flag flying high. So much so that they would take the casualties of the fight and pile them around the base of the flag to ensure that it had the support it needed to remain standing. That struck me just because of what pride they had and how that flag would remain standing at all costs. I wish people would realize what it really took for this country to become what it is and how many people died to give them the freedoms and opportunities they take for granted today.

I'm not an armed forces guy. I'm a big wuss, if you want me to be honest. But I have no lack of patriotism or pride for this country. Thanks to the veterans, I have the freedom to write these jumbled thoughts and post them for anyone on earth to read.

Comments

• Mom said "The pics turned out really good! Sam liked them, too! I'll let you know what one(s) we want to get a print of when we can. "

• Mom said "Forgot to mention that I didn't know that about the flag when Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem. I know it had been a bad fight, but didn't know that about the soldiers."

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