As a kid I can't recall how we experimented combining various different quantity of firework types and we still had all our fingers and toes. The fourth of July is one of the times I still wish I had a ground burst simulator like we used in the service for military exercises. Those were the best bang for the buck.

We would put cherrybomb firecrackers inside my mother's pink hair rollers and see how far they would go.

Then we moved to Long Island and had to act normal.

The Declaration of Independence was and remains the single most important document ever created by human kind not only for this nation but globally wherein many countries have made attempts to emulate its content.

It is a sad state of affairs that some Americans seem bent only complaining about this nation rather than remembering what our founding fathers created. Yes we are not perfect but this nation is the best the world has ever seen

Declaration of Independence - Text Transcript

Yes, great ideals expressed here. They are ideals though. Something we strive for but more often than not do not reach. http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-...inating-facts/

I have always wondered why the wording of "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" were in the Declaration of Independence when slavery was legal in America. Slaves were the property of other people and did not enjoy liberty or the pursuit of happiness.

It was not until the 1960's and the passage of the Civil Rights Act that we saw equality in writing - and still not in practice for many years afterwards in many places.

... slaves and women.

everyone came to my grandparents house..much food made ice cream and sparklers for later...

Still happenin'! We live just outside a suburb of Kansas City, Smithville, a town of 8500. On Friday morning we went to the town square to watch a kids parade, which included our twin three year old grandsons. The mayor spoke, the kids marched, prizes were awarded, and all the kids got red, white, and blue bomb pops. There was a barbeque picnic that afternoon, and fireworks at night. Love Midwest small town life.

The same thing happens in Frankfort, MI, (population 1300) a town on Lake Michigan where we kept our boat for a few years. Big parade, including firetrucks, police cars, floats by various groups, antique cars, candy thrown--you name it--goes down Main Street, with BBQ in the park afterwards and fireworks. One year it rained, and the parade was called off. But it stopped raining, and the parade participants decided to do the race anyway. But they did the route backwards. BIG FUROR!!!! It was in the daily news, and shopkeepers and townspeople were all abuzz about it the next day.

In our neighborhood in PA, the kids decorate their bikes, most have out flags, and people still go out on their front yards to watch the kids go by in their decorated red, white, and blue bikes. A rather low key event, but fun for all involved.

We just got back from our trip to The Villages with the grand kids. They had a ball decorating the lamp post and golf cart with red, white, and blue. We saw quite a few flags on our street. July 4th isn't lost in The Villages. Just no big events.

Did you tell the grandkids the history of Independence Day? It is never too early to let them know what freedom from a foreign power means. Also, as they get older and can understand more, what the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 meant for the USA.

Patriotism is not just putting an American flag on your golf cart. It also means living up to the words on the Statue of Liberty. If those words mean nothing now, the statue should be taken down and destroyed.

Yup. We have several Patriotic books that deal with each level of their ability to learn. Flying the colors is visual for a child and how they equate best in the early years. Words become the next step in understanding. The two work extremely well as early as age one or before.

When I was a little kid in Bridgeport CT. they had a big parade on the 4th. of July. In the evening they had a huge fireworks display at Seaside Park, over the water.

Most likely we had a cookout during the day with hotdogs 'n' hamburgers but I don't remember that part. At that time we were all young and health was not an issue. And, anyway, no one knew that much about the harm of eating grilled beef products. :o

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm grilled beef products! :mmmm: