Independence Day !!! (1 Viewer)

[Uncle Gizmo]

Wishing all my American friends a happy and joyful independence day! I hope you can get the Barbie out and have a few beers!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I would love to get out the barbie but we have 70% chance of rain in my area. And when the local weather-guesser says 70%, s/he doesn't mean that 70% of us will get wet. It is that 100% of us will get wet for 70% of the afternoon. We DID, however, have hot dogs, chips, and salsa yesterday with a small gathering of friends. Plus potato salad and someone brought a spice cake with cream-cheese frosting and chopped pecans on top. A diet-buster if EVER there was such a thing.

As to beer, I stopped drinking it long ago. When I used to play music on a French Quarter stage (back in my college days), the nauseating smell of stale beer every weekend pretty much broke my beer habit. I became a drinker of either Scotch or gin. And with my wonky liver, it is now "none of the above." However, in honor of your kind wish UG, why don't you have a beer on my behalf? In fact, if enough of us make that request, Uncle Gizmo might be justified in downing a case of beer, one bottle for each of us.

I'll probably take an early walk, then get out one of my movies from my DVD library and veg out. Maybe I'll even watch the movie Independence Day or Independence Day: Resurgence. I've got both.

Or perhaps I'll turn on the golf tournament and take a nap on my sofa. It's the perfect "rainy Sunday afternoon" sport to watch. Restful grass and trees and other images of nature, a bunch of people walking around quietly not involved in violent contact sports, announcers who speak in hushed tones, and audiences who delicately clap in what has become known as a "golf clap." AND if there actually is a spectacular shot, the crowd with become agitated enough to wake me and I will see re-runs of that shot from 14 different angles and enhanced statistical analysis. In the process, I'll become bored enough to go back to my nap.

Of course, those of you who don't know me might consider that I have a somewhat relaxed viewpoint of Independence Day. Not true. I am well aware of the folks who fought and died to make our country possible. I honor their memories. But sometimes it is a time of quiet contemplation that brings more appreciation for what we have and how we got here. I don't need fireworks to remind me of the battles. My father-in-law was on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944 as part of the 3rd wave of the amphibious assault. MY father was in Higgins Shipyards building the so-called Liberty Ships that supplied the European and African campaigns. One of my schoolmates in elementary school was the son of a Medal of Honor awardee. (In memory of Sgt. Walter David Ehlers.)

My attitude is perhaps non-standard, but that's OK. My belief is that you celebrate when you can for the flimsiest excuse you've got, because life is too short and too difficult to NOT find an excuse to celebrate every possible day. In New Orleans, we say "Laissez le bon temps roulez" - let the good times roll. Not because we take life frivolously, but because we REMEMBER the bad times too - like Hurricane Katrina destroying homes and lives. LIke COVID-19 striking down loved ones. Like shootings and building collapses. Having a party to boost your spirits to offset some bad times shouldn't require a reason.

Looks like I got on my soap box and waxed philosophical again. Sorry, Uncle. But go ahead and have that beer on my behalf anyway!

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Maybe I'll even watch the movie Independence Day or Independence Day: Resurgence. I've got both.

I love both of them...

 

[conception_native_0123]

I love both of them...

As do I but I didn't think the second one was worth the damn

 

[Isaac]

Happy Independence Day

 

[Isaac]

I would love to get out the barbie but we have 70% chance of rain in my area. And when the local weather-guesser says 70%, s/he doesn't mean that 70% of us will get wet. It is that 100% of us will get wet for 70% of the afternoon. We DID, however, have hot dogs, chips, and salsa yesterday with a small gathering of friends. Plus potato salad and someone brought a spice cake with cream-cheese frosting and chopped pecans on top. A diet-buster if EVER there was such a thing.

As to beer, I stopped drinking it long ago. When I used to play music on a French Quarter stage (back in my college days), the nauseating smell of stale beer every weekend pretty much broke my beer habit. I became a drinker of either Scotch or gin. And with my wonky liver, it is now "none of the above." However, in honor of your kind wish UG, why don't you have a beer on my behalf? In fact, if enough of us make that request, Uncle Gizmo might be justified in downing a case of beer, one bottle for each of us.

I'll probably take an early walk, then get out one of my movies from my DVD library and veg out. Maybe I'll even watch the movie Independence Day or Independence Day: Resurgence. I've got both.

Or perhaps I'll turn on the golf tournament and take a nap on my sofa. It's the perfect "rainy Sunday afternoon" sport to watch. Restful grass and trees and other images of nature, a bunch of people walking around quietly not involved in violent contact sports, announcers who speak in hushed tones, and audiences who delicately clap in what has become known as a "golf clap." AND if there actually is a spectacular shot, the crowd with become agitated enough to wake me and I will see re-runs of that shot from 14 different angles and enhanced statistical analysis. In the process, I'll become bored enough to go back to my nap.

Of course, those of you who don't know me might consider that I have a somewhat relaxed viewpoint of Independence Day. Not true. I am well aware of the folks who fought and died to make our country possible. I honor their memories. But sometimes it is a time of quiet contemplation that brings more appreciation for what we have and how we got here. I don't need fireworks to remind me of the battles. My father-in-law was on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944 as part of the 3rd wave of the amphibious assault. MY father was in Higgins Shipyards building the so-called Liberty Ships that supplied the European and African campaigns. One of my schoolmates in elementary school was the son of a Medal of Honor awardee. (In memory of Sgt. Walter David Ehlers.)

My attitude is perhaps non-standard, but that's OK. My belief is that you celebrate when you can for the flimsiest excuse you've got, because life is too short and too difficult to NOT find an excuse to celebrate every possible day. In New Orleans, we say "Laissez le bon temps roulez" - let the good times roll. Not because we take life frivolously, but because we REMEMBER the bad times too - like Hurricane Katrina destroying homes and lives. LIke COVID-19 striking down loved ones. Like shootings and building collapses. Having a party to boost your spirits to offset some bad times shouldn't require a reason.

Looks like I got on my soap box and waxed philosophical again. Sorry, Uncle. But go ahead and have that beer on my behalf anyway!

I agree - celebrate however one wants. I make a big point out of making some comments at the family lunch table about how thankful I am for those who made hard choices over the years to keep this country going. With some specific examples, starting with some famous ones like those who signed their name to the Dec., knowing they were marked for horrific punishment along with their families from that day on.

I think (hope) that those attitudes have a lasting impact on my kids, so that if ever they are faced with a real choice that has some consequence to it, they'll have respect and gratefulness for our nation as a 'value' that I passed on.

The whole barbeque/grill thing is, of course, totally out of the question for anyone in Arizona whose sweat glands are functioning, so I land pretty firmly on the "quiet, contemplative" side of things.

Holidays just make me thankful for a lot of things. Being "off" on Monday makes me remember I'm part of the top 3% wealthiest in the world, and that happened just by being born in a 1st world country.

 

[Cronk]

70% chance of rain

Out of 10 people in the weather bureau, 7 think it will rain?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Cronk, the way these weather-guessers work, I'm not sure WHAT they really mean.

Perhaps they are hoping that at least 70% of them get paid?

 

[kevlray]

Unfortunately here in California we are desperate for any rain. And now the temps are going up again (not at bad as Canada recently).

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Potentially bad news for the California wine industry, I would think. Grapes with limited moisture will probably not ferment very well, since the whole fermentation process is normally based on an abundance of water.

 

[Isaac]

Cronk, the way these weather-guessers work, I'm not sure WHAT they really mean.

Perhaps they are hoping that at least 70% of them get paid?

The local news station's weather "man" has certainly changed a lot over the years ...........

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The local news station's weather "man" has certainly changed a lot over the years ...........

You might say that:

South American weather girl Massiel Carrillo grabs attention during report

South American weather girl Massiel Carrillo grabs attention during report

www.thesun.ie