Happy July 4th!

I have a traditional musing for today, but I figured I’d give you an update first. Last night was light blanket weather. The earlier morning had kept the chill, but it is now 70°. The yard is bathed in sunlight. The birds are the only sounds I hear. I have a uke concert in Hyannis this afternoon. We’ll be playing Songs Across America with a rousing patriotic set at the end. 

I just love birthdays and today is the grandest of them all. 

On July 3rd 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail. In it, he predicted the celebrations for American Independence Day, including the parties:

“It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”

John Adams expected July 2nd to be Independence Day as that was the day the Second Continental Congress voted for independence, but the signing ceremony for the Declaration of Independence didn’t happen until two days later on July 4th, the date listed on the document. That is why July 4th is our Independence Day.

I know some people complain that the meaning of the day is lost in the barbecues and the fireworks, but they have forgotten John Adams’ hope. We are honoring the day exactly as he wished. Flags are waving everywhere. Families get together to celebrate and to break bread, albeit hot dog rolls. Fireworks illuminate the sky. Baseball is played on small town fields and in huge stadiums. Drums beat the cadence in parades. We sing rousing songs celebrating America and our freedom. We also sing heartfelt songs about what America means to us. We are many sorts of people, we Americans. We don’t all look the same, practice the same religion, eat the same foods or dress in the same way, but we all celebrate today.

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Happy Birthday, America, from all of us Americans.

The weather has been close to perfection. The last few days have been in the low 80’s while the nights have been in the 60’s, perfect sleeping weather. Today we have a breeze.

Yesterday I planted the rest of the deck flowers. I cleaned the furniture. Today I’ll water those plants, and when it gets cooler, I’ll sit outside under the umbrella, book in one hand, lemonade in the other. It is sloth time.

Today I could sweep the house, but I won’t. I’ll just let the tumbleweeds whirl in the air as I walk. I do have an errand, but I’ll wait until the air is cooler.

Yesterday, wonders appeared as if by magic. Close to sunset the sky was pink all across the west, and the pink spread everywhere, the house next door, in between the trees in the backyard and through my windows. The color drew me to the deck where I stayed until the sun set and the day began to darken, but the wonder continued. I saw the first fireflies in my backyard flitting around the pine trees and the tall grass. I stayed and watched and smiled the whole time I was outside.

In the paper today, a small article mentioned the Milky Way will appear all this month. Billions of stars in a band of light will arc across the sky. I was reminded of Ghana. I had never so many stars as those in the Ghanaian night sky. I could see the Milky Way, the dusty trail of stars, every night. The starlight made for shadows. There were falling stars, and I made a wish on each one. I slept outside on a mattress and fell asleep to the beauty of the night.