It rained last night and poured this morning so we started revising our 4th of July plans to indoors. Then, after the ward pancake breakfast, the skies cleared and the sun presided over the midday town picnic in the park.
Humid cotton candy, oompa bands, bluegrass combos, a League of Women Voters used jewelry sale, hot dog stands, hula hoopers, Lizzie the Clown, neighbors and townfolk swathed in patriotic colors--all just a mile or so from the place where the revolution was started, culminating in these words drafted 236 years ago today:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...and for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutally pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.*
What could be more patriotic than registering to vote for the first time?
Uncle Sam wants YOU
Betsy Ross and the port-a-potties
Synchronized cotton candy
God Bless America, land that I love.
. . .
*Listen to the entire Declaration of Independence here read beautifully by NPR reporters, commentators, and hosts.
We also started out our day watching three of our favorite National Anthem performances:
