Man how we used to look forward to this day when we were kids. Firecrackers, sparklers and Black Snakes and maybe even a few rockets of some kind to shoot off. We always wanted to start too early and usually had everything shot off before it got good and dark!
Then as I got older, it was always a big deal to go to Orman for the big Firework show up there. Alcohol was usually involved and it is a wonder anyone survived. I don’t miss that!
Then when we had kids, we stayed closer to home and always had some stuff fro them to shoot off. Interspersed in there were trips up into the Black Hills to lakes for fishing, food and friends.
This year, it wasn’t handy to get together with any of the kids and grandkids, so Cindy went to work and I putted around here and really didn’t do too much…guess we are getting old. I did watch “Saving Private Ryan” again. Hadn’t watched it since it first came out. Very hard for me to set and watch that…all the blood and death, so that so many of us could live the lives we do today.
Freedom…. it’s a precious thing that most of us take for granted and it seems we let more of it get away from us each year.
I hope we can reverse that…before it is too late…
Dennisranch 
PVT ryan great movie my dad came in on normandy, according to my mom but my dad never talked about it.I served with the 82nd airborne 1972 1974.
Thank you sir, for your service. It has been my great good fortune to have met several of that’s era’s hero’s. One was my Uncle who was decorated for service in Europe, tho’ I don’t think he was on the beach when we went in, another was a Marine who had been Iwa Jima, and a fellow who lives north of us who was there on the beach, when they went in. He has talked a bit about it and acts pretty matter of fact when questioned. He became a prisoner of war and was down to 85 pounds when he was freed and said he was 165 I believe when he enlisted….he had a son who served in Nam and he claims his son had it much harder than he did. I am in awe of all, who have served. I don’t think I would have made it thru’ Basic… but have been told it would have been good for me. Hell, I barely made it the restrictions on my person of Public High school, which I refer to as my prison years…..our middle son was at AIT when the towers went down on Sept, 11 and was in Kuwait when we went in. He ended up in Baghdad and never once had to fire his weapon while serving, tho’ he told a few tales of going out with the scouts, while there….He too, is one of my hero’s!
My favorite 4th of July celebrations included going to Mt. Rushmore to hear G’pa’s barbershop chorus sing. Fireworks over Mt. Rushmore and the chorus singing patriotic songs at the foot made for unforgettable memories.
The actor who played the elder Ryan and my Dad could have been brothers. The movie came out the same year my Dad passed, and even to this day it can make me a tad emotional.
I share your hope for our nation’s future. And thanks for reminding me of wonderful black snakes. I can remember lighting them up outside my grandma’s house when we were kids. They smelled kinda cool. Today, speaking of those stolen freedoms, you can’t even light up a sparkler here in NY without breaking the law.
I sure agree with you on the nation! The kids drove themselves to the fireworks and Matt and I just sat in the cool air and relaxed with some down time to ourselves. Don’t really miss seeing fireworks much.
I used to serve as a chaplain at Fort Meade. I loved those old guys, the WWII vets. For so many, their service didn’t end with the war. Injuries, ailments, diseases, etc., continued on for the rest of their lives. When I was there we had lots of Vietnam vets coming in for illnesses related to Agent Orange. How sad that they had to fight the government to get those ailments covered. There were a lot of them in the psych ward. Now we’re having so much of the same thing from Iraq/Afghanistan.
We can never thank those women and men enough. And we should never be anxious to go to war. Never.
(After years of witnessing lifetimes of suffering, I guess I have pretty strong feelings about war.)