Happy Independence Day 2020!

I wasn't asking you to comment about Hanukkah. I don't know much about the holiday either but I assumed having the bush was part of the tradition of celebrating and/or observing the festival, not part of any commericalization/marketization ploy to cash in on the holiday.

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and Dr. King's birthday are still important to me. Mother's Day is important to my mother and so is her birthday. My dad's birthday and Father's Day aren't that important to me since my dad passed, but my pastor's and ex-pastor's birthdays are important to my pastor and ex-pastor respectively and so is Father's Day.

Dr King in my view was extremely complex and had a broad agenda that was all inclusive of the people, regardless of race. For he was expanding his civil rights movement, after already speaking out against the Vietnam War, into a People's Movement, meant to give political power to the working class. He was preparing to speak on this when he was killed. But his People's Power agenda is swept under the rug on his holiday and we just hear of him working for civil rights. He is slowly becoming just a celebrity name to much of the public.

I know Dr. King tried to be a man of the people.

What do you think about holiday trees - trees designed for major American holidays aside from Christmas?

I think it's a bit ridiculous. It's like someone is trying to reinvent the way people celebrate and/or observe American holidays.

These trees had nothing to do with original holiday tradition.

I don't know. I have never paid them any attention.

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving their dreams of past glory
I see the old men, all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "what are they Marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all.

"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle

Shouldn't Independence Day really be about America's victory or the British in the American Revolutionary War?

Why are you asking me?

So we went to Boston. Yep and stayed over night at a nice hotel - in normal times we would not even be able to get a room on the 4th let alone afford it.

So yep the upscale hotel was pretty reasonable; it was a former jail and the architecture was incredible - many of the original parts of the jail are still there including bars and so forth. Then we walked around the North end had an early dinner outside - again it would have been packed on a normal 4th and the weather so comfortable. Did some more walking and then had an early evening night cap at the hotel's outdoor bar/restaurant called the Alibi.

Next day - went for the Brunch at the hotel restaurant called the Clink. And then borrowed the hotel's bikes and went for a hour or longer bike ride along the Charles river. And then came back home.

Again none of this would have been possible during a normal 4th of July weekend. So it was kind of nice in a way.

And yeah there was no Pops in Boston - probably why we could bike right on by that area.

-FIXED.

Pops at Boston might have been cancelled but there were a handful of other fireworks shows being televised.

We went to see the fireworks display put on at Ft. Bliss. We didn't have to go on base to see them. They were shot 500 feet in the air so that they could be seen from a greater distance. We parked at an industrial district directly across from the area on base where they set up the fireworks. People were socially distanced at their vehicles and wearing masks. It gave my daughters one of the few chances to get out of the house where they've been cooped-up for months because of the friggin virus. It was nice getting out of the house to do something.

Now it’s fixed.

One of the great anti-war songs. Liam Clancy 'brought' it to Ireland about forty years ago and it's now part of the national fabric here. No good sing-song is complete without a rendition of it!