God Bless the USA!

Happy 4th of July!

We're Closed for the parade.

Walk on down. There's food

and drinks waitin' on youse.

Every time I hear Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA", I think of all the good that comes from the land of the free and the brave.

Every time I hear Brooks and Dunn sing "Only in America", I picture those kids on a school bus, all colors, all sizes, all types. Some with hope... Some just gettin' by...

Every time I hear The Star Spangled Banner I picture baseball stadiums, hats off, hands over hearts and a crowd singing along....

Which has to remind me of Jeter, right???

And when it's "Taps" I hear, I see a campground, quiet. Calm. Everyone hunkered down. Time for sleep, for rest, for regrouping, re-strategizing. 


And when it's a bagpiper tooling "Amazing Grace" I see a fallen soldier, someone bigger and braver and  way tougher than me. Someone who answered valor's call... That link is to a simply amazing video... thought provoking and just beautiful.


And when I hear America the Beautiful I see marching bands, young folks, dressed in costumed splendor, Old Glory waving as they make formations on the field or parade down a small town road...  

But today I hear God Bless America.... Land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her... through the night with a light from above....


And that's what I wish for all the folks as Missy, Tex and I head down to the Village Green for the annual reading of the Declaration. The old men will all pretend to be part of that Second Continental Congress and John Adams will be played by Hector James and that's a good deal because neither one knew/knows when to shut up.


But they both love God and this country so I guess it's okay.


For today.


Happy Independence Day.... We've got a coffee booth at the community celebration. Bring your own lawn chair, of course, and set a spell whilst the old uns play cards and the young ones play us a little fiddlin' music courtesy of the Tennessee Walker High School Ensemble.