Tuesday, June 30, 2009

July 1st

Happy first day of July !
What kind of fun things happen at your house
to celebrate our country's Independence Day?
William and I usually go down to the Concho River
in downtown San Angelo with quilt, lawn chairs
and ice chest in tow.
The SA Symphony presents a wonderful
program of patriotic songs,
we spread out the quilt and lay out the food
we brought.
Lots of people (over 30,000) come to town
for this annual event
and we always see lots of folks
and get to catch up with friends.
Some years we do it the easy way and go by and pick up a pizza
or a bucket of chicken.
Haven't figured out the menu for this year --
something fun and different.
And COOL !
We sit on the riverbank and eat and visit
and listen to the music and
then the evening ends with a spectacular
fireworks display.
Oh -- and the flyover. There is almost always
a fantastic flyover. That's usually when I start to get emotional.
I am always moved to tears at some point
in the evening -- try as I might to remain in control.
It's just so moving --- I mean,
here we are -- living in the greatest country
in the world, in the greatest state in the country
(I do hope you love your state as much
as I love mine).
I'm blessed to be living in the kind of
community where life is slow and
friends are forever,
and where we still get choked up
over the presentation of the flag
and the playing of patriotic songs.
It's a powerful thing to reflect on our country,
the people who settled it and
founded this way of life and
then fought with all they had to
make this country great
and to keep this country free.
Happy July everyone!
May your celebrations be fun and safe --
Gwynie Pie