Fourth of July Number 1

Fourth of July Number 1, Florine Stettheimer

Happy Independence Day

July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth. ...

In recent years, however, I’ve come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation. It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history.

Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government.

Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.

We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should.

Happy Fourth of July.

President Ronald Reagan, What July Fourth Means to Me, 1981

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
Hats off!
The colors before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State;
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace,
March of a strong land's swift increase:
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverent awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong,
To ward her people from foreign wrong;
Pride and glory and honor, all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
And loyal hearts are beating high:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

(Henry Holcomb Bennett)

Childe Hassam, The Fourth of July, 1916

4th of July in Dallas 2016

More specifically, in the Lakewood neighborhood we live near. This is how you do 4th of July!

I felt silly but it brought a tear to my eye at one point because this was such a pure expression of loving our country as compared to all the dreck from politics lately... we heard Born in the USA from a lot of floats.

The theme was Lakewood Dreams Big ... which some ignored in favor of patriotism and which some did in very big, over the (big) top style.

A Hometown 4th of July Parade

I am not sure if I will cook or if we will pick up barbecue. Either way, we'll have a celebratory summer-time meal for the 4th of July. However, that is the only normal thing we will be doing this year.

Of course, in the midst of the pandemic, there will be no parade. There will be no congenial gathering of people on the lawns around the Dallas Country Club to enjoy their fireworks. 

I love these things - the parade, the fireworks, the gathering of all sorts of Americans to enjoy them together - and so I am sad. However, I am also hopeful that next year all will be back to normal life, which we will appreciate with all our hearts!

In the meantime, enjoy this reminder of how much fun the Lakewood Parade has been in the past! This was originally published in 2008.

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Yes, from the heart of Dallas ...

I pause in making Potato Salad, Barbecued Shrimp marinade (some olive oil, some Worcestershire, some Heinz chili sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, etc) for shrimp which we will put on the barbie tonight ...

... to share some shots of the annual parade which had the theme of "Cartoons."

Cookie Monster ... this might have been our favorite float.

Mickie Mouse ... possibly the most creative use ever of a Volkswagon.

The Archies ... they were mugging their hearts out!

A heck of a clown car ... it had a driver in the front and the "back" so the wheels could go in different directions and it could go backward and forward in a most "organic" manner ... hilarious!

Superheroes ... of course!

Betsy Ross ... not a cartoon but very patriotic!