[Muncle]

Fireworks at a distance, and musicians some might remermber

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzL4L_FpLvE&feature=fvw[/ame]




`

[babbs455]

There is something in the air tonight
Can you feel it just like me?
The sky is lit up from dark to light
So that all the world could see

Such magnificent colors
many shapes and sizes and hues
GIANT flags created in the skies
In reds and whites and blues

As I look at all this beauty
And all these wonders that I see
I give thanks to our Forefather's
For making sure that we are free

So tonight as you all gather
Underneath the skies that shine
Give thanks to our dear Father
To protect us all the time

Happy Birthday my Dear USA
You're looking haggard but never weak
May we always stand for Freedom
And never take away our Liberty

barbara shewak
http://www.thestarlitecafe.com/poems..._91000209.html

[Donna]

[shazam]

4TH OF JULY

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his Ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.



Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.



So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.



Remember: freedom is never free!



It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball.
Kinda makes you feel ill when you look at the pompous idiots now supposedly serving us in Washington.

[graciegirl]

How can we be so lucky, my family and I? To be born and to live our lives in a place that we are free to work as hard as we can and most be successful enough to have what we need and much of what we want. To be able to say what we think in public (and on a public forum like this) and to enjoy a democracy where every vote is counted and every opinion counts.

To be able to experience the natural beauty of a huge and diverse country and the experiences and life of a huge and diverse population? To be able to raise our children to have the same opportunities.

I am the granddaughter of German immigrants and my uncles fought in the second world war.........in Germany against Hitler.

I am proud to be an American and proud to share this life with all of you who love their country too.