JUST SOME POSTS

I am writing this on the morning of the 4th of July. As noted in the title, the 4th of July happens everywhere. What does not is Independence Day. The 4th of July is celebrated in the U.S. to mark the day the 13 colonies of North America declared their independence from Great Britain. But, why the 4th? It is at the top of the Declaration of Independence, the official document that was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson at the behest of the Continental Congress. However, there are a lot of other dates that we could (and maybe should?) celebrate or at least publicize. As you might imagine, I am going to do a bit of that for you now. By July 4th, 1776 the Colonies were already at war with Great Britain. (fyi, for simplicities sake, I am going to follow convention and just refer to Great Britain and her armies as "the British" in most cases) The first shots "officially" fired at British troops by Continental militia were at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts on April 19th...

I have used this post for the four previous July 4th posts. I am using it again for two reasons - 1) I read it and I don't think I could improve upon it. Not that it is the best thing ever written. I just don't think I am capable of doing better and/or getting my point across. 2) I actually have had REQUESTS for it! (hey - more than 1 is plural) I am going to preface this a bit more. I read recently that a study and a couple of "man in the street" type interviews showed that a LOT of people here do not know the who, what, why, when, and/or where of July 4th. When asked what it is, the most common response was "Independence Day". When asked to elaborate, most could not. When pointedly asked who we attained independence from, a LOT did not know. The answers ranged from China to Germany and a lot in between. When asked when it occurred that also was missed by a majority. When you are having your gathering, cookout, picnic, or watching fireworks with frien...