Re: OT-What July Fourth Means to Me- Long!

Okay, DF...are you into just one of those or more than one?  How seriously depraved are you???  :-)


Melody, IA (Z 5/4)

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."    
--Albert Einstein

 --- On Wed 07/07, David Franzman < dfranzma@pacbell.net > wrote:
From: David Franzman [mailto: dfranzma@pacbell.net]
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 09:05:31 -0700
Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT-What July Fourth Means to Me- Long!

"as long as you are not into<br>drugs, violence, pedophilia,
pornography, prostitution, stealing from<br>your neighbors, beating your
wife or kids, foreclosing on your<br>neighbor's farms, or other forms of
extreme hell-raising,"<br><br>Well that rules me out!<br><br>David
Franzman<br>A Touch of the
Tropics<br>www.atouchofthetropics.net<br>----- Original Message -----
<br>From: "Melody" <mhobertm@excite.com><br>To:
<gardenchat@hort.net><br>Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:51
PM<br>Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT-What July Fourth Means to Me-
Long!<br><br><br>> DF: Nah! That's an amazing thing here...as long as
you are not into<br>> drugs, violence, pedophilia, pornography,
prostitution, stealing from<br>> your neighbors, beating your wife or
kids, foreclosing on your<br>> neighbor's farms, or other forms of
extreme hell-raising, you are pretty<br>> much okay with us. Long as you
don't go getting any fancy ideas of<br>> "growing" our town and making
it like a bigger city... And trust me, I<br>> am the most outspoken
person around here...well known for saying just<br>> what I mean and not
taking any crap from anyone. If Hills can adjust to<br>> me, and they
have, very well thank you, then they can take just about<br>> anything.
I've never lived anywhere where I have ever felt such a sense<br>> of
community and belonging. We're not perfect, not by any means, but
we<br>> are sure close enough for me.<br>><br>><br>><br>> Melody, IA (Z
5/4)<br>><br>> "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious."<br>> --Albert Einstein<br>><br>> --- On Wed 07/07, David
Franzman < dfranzma@pacbell.net > wrote:<br>> From: David Franzman
[mailto: dfranzma@pacbell.net]<br>> To: gardenchat@hort.net<br>> Date:
Tue, 6 Jul 2004 22:13:56 -0700<br>> Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT-What July
Fourth Means to Me- Long!<br>><br>> I need to live in a town like that!
I miss ol' Norman Rockwell. I'm<br>> not<br>being sarcastic I really
mean it. Course, I'd probably open my<br>> mouth and be<br>run out on a
rail but hey the first 45 minutes would be<br>

> great.<br><br>David Franzman<br>A Touch of the<br>>
Tropics<br>www.atouchofthetropics.net<br>----- Original Message
-----<br>> <br>From: "Melody" <mhobertm@excite.com><br>To:<br>>
<gardenchat@hort.net><br>Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 2:23<br>>
AM<br>Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT-What July Fourth Means to Me-<br>>
Long!<br><br><br>> Oh, I think depending on where you live, Jim, it
is<br>> very close to the<br>> real thing. In our little town, 4th of
July is a<br>> big, big deal. Things<br>> start happening the day before
with an all<br>> day softball tournament that<br>> the entire town turns
up at sooner or<br>> later. The local bar hosts a<br>> street dance with
live bands that goes<br>> on all afternoon and half the<br>> night.
Families hang out at the park<br>> all that day and the next,<br>>
picnicking and playing. Relatives come<br>> to visit from out of town.
Family<br>> parties happening all over the<br>> place. Loved ones home
from the military<br>> are treated like royalty<br>> all over town. On
the day of the fourth, people<br>> pick out their<br>> parking spots at
the park early. The volunteer fire<br>> department<br>> starts early in
the morning putting together the show for<br>> that<br>> night. For a
town of less than 700 people, we spend an average of<br>><br>>
$12-15,000 dollars on fireworks, all paid for by volunteer<br>>
donations.<br>> Half our volunteer fire department pay out of their
own<br>> pockets to get<br>> licensed as pyrotechnicians. We have a
parade that<br>> the entire town<br>> participates in, one way or
another. Lots of<br>> floats, horses,<br>> politicians, candy, and best
of all, fire trucks<br>> from as many<br>> communities around as can
come (this year it was 8!)<br>> Then by 7 in the<br>> evening, there is
usually somewhere in the<br>> neighborhood of a couple of<br>> thousand
people milling around in town<br>> as people come from all over to<br>>
see our fireworks. It literally<br>> stops the traffic a<br>><br>> ll up
and down the<br>> highway. And it is always, always precede

d 
by<br>> the singing of the<br>> National Anthem and the salute to the
flag. It<br>> is a very patriotic deal<br>> here where many, many of our
young folks<br>> are serving in the military and<br>> many of our older
folks are<br>> veterans. This is not necessarily a time to<br>> reflect
on all that is<br>> wrong with our country, but rather to remember<br>>
that once upon a<br>> time, a few men changed the way they wanted to
live and<br>> in so<br>> doing, founded a great nation of people who
value independence and<br>><br>> self-determination. I know of few
people who would argue that in<br>> the<br>> USA, for th<br>><br>> ose
who are willing to work at it, almost<br>> nothing is unattainable.
The<br>> legend that Mr. Reagan chose to wrap<br>> those thoughts up in
may not be any<br>> where close to the truth (what<br>> legends really
are), but I can live with<br>> the sentiment underlying<br>> the
words.<br>><br>><br>><br>> Melody, IA (Z 5/4)<br>><br>> "The most<br>>
beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."<br>> --Albert<br>>
Einstein<br>><br>> --- On Sat 07/03, james singer < jsinger@igc.org
><br>> wrote:<br>> From: james singer [mailto: jsinger@igc.org]<br>>
To:<br>> gardenchat@hort.net<br>> Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2004 17:38:54
-0400<br>><br>> Subject: Re: [CHAT] OT-What July Fourth Means to Me-
Long!<br>><br>><br>> Interesting, but hardly the real thing.<br><br>On
Saturday, July 3,<br>><br>> 2004, at 10:41 AM, Donna wrote:<br><br>>
This was posted on another<br>><br>> list... Thought some might want to
read<br>> it....<br>><br>><br>> --------------------<br>><br>> What July
Fourth Means to Me<br>> By<br>><br>> Ronald Reagan<br>><br>> For one who
was born and grew up in the<br>> small<br>> towns of the Midwest,<br>>
there is a special kind of<br>> nostalgia about<br>> the Fourth of
July.<br>><br>> I remember it as a<br>> day almost as<br>>
long-anticipated as Christmas. This <br>> was<br>><br>> helped along by
the<br>> appearance in store windows of all kinds<br>> of<br>> fireworks
and colorful<br>> po

sters advertising them with vivid<br>> pictures.<br>><br>> No later
than<br>><br>><br>> th<br>> e third of July -- sometimes earlier -- Dad
would bring<br>> home<br>> what<br>> he felt he could afford to see go
up in smoke and flame.<br>> We'd<br>> count<br>> and recount the number
of firecrackers, display<br>> pieces and other<br>><br>> things and go
to bed determined to be up with<br>> the sun so as to offer<br>> <br>>
the<br>> first, thunderous notice of<br>> the Fourth of
July.<br>><br>><br>> I'm afraid we didn't give too much<br>> thought to
the meaning of the<br>> day.<br>> And, yes, there were tragic<br>>
accidents to mar it, resulting<br>> from <br>> careless<br>> handling
of<br>> the fireworks. I'm sure we're<br>> better off today with<br>>
fireworks<br>> largely handled by<br>> professionals.<br>><br>> Yet
there was a thrill<br>> never to be forgotten in<br>> seeing a tin can
blown<br>> 30 feet in the<br>> air by a giant "cracker" --<br>> giant
meaning it was about 4<br>><br>> inches long. But enough of<br>>
nostalgia.<br>><br>> Somewhere in our<br>> growing up we began to be
aware of<br>> the meaning of days<br>> and<br>> with that awareness came
the birth of<br>> patriotism. July Fourth is<br>> <br>> the<br>>
birthday of our nation. I<br>> believed as a boy, and<br>> believe even
more<br>> today, that it is the<br>> birthday of the<br>> greatest
nation on earth.<br>><br>> There is a legend<br>> about the day<br>> of
our nation's birth in the little <br>> hall<br>> in<br>><br>>
Philadelphia, a day on which debate had raged for hours. The<br>>
men<br>><br>> gathered there were honorable men hard-pressed by a
king<br>> who had<br>><br>> <br>> flouted<br>> the very laws they were
willing to<br>> obey. Even so, to<br>> sign the<br>> Declaration of
Independence was<br>> such an irretrievable act<br>> that the <br>>
walls<br>> resounded with<br>> the words "treason, the<br>> gallows, the
headsman's axe," <br>><br>> and<br>> the issue remained in<br>>
doubt.<br>><br>> The legend says<br>> that at that point

a 
man rose and<br>> spoke. He is <br>> described<br>><br>> as not a young
man, but one who had to<br>> summon all his energy for<br>> an<br>>
impassioned plea. He cited the<br>> grievances that had brought<br>>
them to this<br>> moment and<br>><br>> finally, his<br>> voice falling,
he said, "They may turn every<br>> tree<br>> into a gallows,<br>> every
hole into a grave, and yet the words of<br>> that<br>> parchment
can<br>> never die.<br>><br>> To the mechanic in the<br>> workshop, they
will speak<br>> hope; to the slave in<br>> the mines,<br>> freedom. Sign
that parchment. Sign<br>> if the next moment the<br>><br>> noose is
around your neck, for that<br>> parchment will be the textbook<br>>
of<br>> freedom, the Bible of the rights<br>> of man
forever."<br>><br>><br>> He fell back exhausted. The 56 delegates,<br>>
swept up by his<br>> eloquence,<br>> rushed forward and signed that
document<br>> destined to<br>> be as immortal as a<br>> work of man can
be. When they<br>> turned to<br>> thank him for his timely<br>> oratory,
he was not to be found,<br>> nor<br>> could any be found who knew who
he<br>> was or how he had come in<br>> or<br>> gone out through the
locked and guarded<br>> doors.<br>><br>><br>> Well, that<br>> is the
legend. But we do know for certain that 56 men,<br>> a<br>> little<br>>
band so unique we have never seen their like since,<br>> had
pledged<br>><br>> their lives, their fortunes and their sacred<br>>
honor. Some gave their<br>><br>> lives in the war that followed,
most<br>> gave their fortunes, and all<br>><br>> preserved their
sacred<br>> honor.<br>><br>> What manner of men were they?<br>>
Twenty-four were<br>> lawyers and jurists,<br>> eleven were merchants
and<br>> tradesmen, and<br>> nine were farmers. They were<br>>
soft-spoken men of<br>> means and<br>> education; they were not an
unwashed<br>> rabble. They had<br>> achieved<br>> security but valued
freedom more. Their<br>> stories have not<br>> been<br>> told nearly
eno<br>><br>> ug<br>><br>> ________________________________________

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