Happy 4th

While the storms gather,
Far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance,
To a land that's free.
Let us all be greatful,
For a land so fair,
As we raise our voices,
In a Solemn prayer -

God Bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her, and guide her,]
Through the night, with the light
From above.
From the mountains,
To the prairies,
To the oceaans,
White with foan,
God Bless America
My home sweet home.

Does all that sound familiar? It should - it's the words (complete with verse) of the song written by Irving Berlin, and made famous by Kate Smith. It very nearly replaced the Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem.

I thought it was especially appropriate to start my blog today. Oh by the way, did you even know there was a verse to it? Read it over and over again, and stop to think that it is really a prayer to God. We sing it so much, without even thinking about what the meaning of it is. Think about it!!


I have in my possession, a book I would like to recommend that everyone get, if at all within your power, and read at least once, maybe two or three times. This book was given to me for Christmas in 2008, while I was a resident of the Yuba City Manor, a residential senior assisted living facility. Every Christmas one of the service clubs of Yuba City gives the resident a gift, of their choice. This particular Christmas, I had requested one of two books, The Shack, or Joel Osteen's latest book. I was really blessed, because I got not only both of those books, but four others, as well as a lap throw to use while I was reading. I say I was truly blessed because one of the books was called The Presidet written by Parker Hudson, with a 1995 copywright. If you remember, Christmas 2008 was just after our presidential election, and before the inauguration. This book, although written in 1995, could have been written the sumer of 2008. It is so timely. Actually it is the story of a man who had promised the country that if he were elected, he would change the country for the better. Things did not go as he had planned. The story, of course, involves a love story (even tho it is between a husband and wife and family), foreign intrigue, and a national crisis. It is the story of a man who, when he became president, was a staunch non-believer, who through the experiences of his life, and his family, turns to his God and turns the whole nation around. It is a very complicated story, but one I have found very fascinating. I have one friend whom I know for a fact has read the book at least four times. I myself have read it twice, and I know I will read it more. I am not normally such a fan of one book, but I do highly recommend this book to anyone who really likes to read. I'm not sure where you would find it. I looked in Amazon, and it was not listed by author. But, it you can find it, I certainly recommend it for reading.

Back to the 4th. Are you doing anything special? Going to the fireworks was almost a tradition in our family for many years. Then, a few years ago, there was a mis-fire, and a young girl got very badly injured at the local fireworks display. I think that was the last year they had community firewords in the Marysville/Yuba City area. I know I have not gone anywhere to see them since. I will probably watch on TV tonight. But is that all we do to "celebrate" our country? I know I still love my country very much, although right now I am very much afraid of our future. As I sit here writing this, I can recall several things that happened in our family that bring back memories of the 4th - most of them interesting, some rather exciting, but all fun to remember. As a child, I can remember going out to the open field in front of our house, and setting off "Roman Candles" which are very dangerous, and now illegal. When HRR and I were first married, we could go to the riberbank, and watch the firewords across the river at Grimes. Yes, even that little tiny town had a fireworks display. The only really bad thing about it was the mosquitos. When Kathy was just two or three years old, we had some friends over for the evening, and we were out in the yard setting off our "firecrackers". One thing the kids really loved was the "sparklers". They were much fireier (my own word) than the ones they have now. You could actually write in the air, and there was enough "sparkle" that you would be able to read the whole word before the sparks died. Kathy was holding one, at her side, actually touching her dress, and it set her dress on fire. We saw it right away and put it out, but it could have been bad. We started going to the big firewords display at Ellis Lake in Marysville. (For awhile it was held at Riverfront Park on the banks of the Feather River) but this particular time, it was at Ellie Lake. Highway 70 runs right along the edge of the Lake, and anyone driving through town can see that there is something really big happening there. On this particular evening, we had our blanket spread on the grass, and there was quite a crowd. A young couple with two small sons came along, and we invited them to share our blanket. It turns out they were from Los Angeles, and just passing through and stopped to watch the show. They had no plans for the night so we invited them to come visit us at the ranch. Before we left town, the boys each had to have a "hanginburger". When we got to the ranch (25 miles from town) the mother was absolutely fascinated by the stars in the sky. She commented that you didn't see stars like that in the city. Judy was only a month old when we took her to her first fireworks display. You know how some of those rockets make such a "boom" when they explode - well, she slept right thru it, never flinching, or batting an eye. When Kathy and her family were in Alaska, they were home for the 4th one year, and we had quite a family picnic in Chico. We decided to go to Oroville, to the top of the dam, to watch the fireworks. There was a solid line of cars up and down the side of the dam, and some way a grass fire got started. It was absolutely amazing the way that traffic jam got out of there and out of the way of the fire. I think one of the best 4ths I ever had was after I had my mobile home east of Marysville. I had a large, covered carport, and I had a picnic out there. I don't remember just who or how many were there, but I thought it was pretty neat.

Well, anyway, I hope that whatever you are doing today, or this evening, you will have a wonderful time and remember the reason we observe this very special day. Otherwise,

That's all folks!!

Beth