Happy Second of July, Kevlar!

[ozma914]

 John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Second U.S. President, and all around unpleasant guy, had this to say about America's Independence Day:

"It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations, from one End of this Continent to the other, from this Time forward--

Comments

[kazzy_cee]

I always find it interesting that many of my US friends are proud to be American but desperate to find out what their heritage was and are very happy if it includes English ancestors ;)

[ozma914]

There's a desire in most people, I think, to find out where they came from. I think it's even more important for many than to know where they're going! One of my relatives did our family tree and discovered an ancestor moved from Ireland to North Carolina in the mid 1700s ... that branch of the family moved into the Appalachian Mountains because they reminded many Irish people of their homeland, and that's where one met and married into the Cherokee tribe. And so, our family often has either black or flaming red hair!

[curiouswombat]

At last - the full story! That John Adams seemed like a man with his eye on conquering Canada... :)

[ozma914]

Canada was on the mind of our Founding Fathers: They tried to convince the Canadians to join the rebellion, and when that didn't happen they organized an invasion of Canada. But every time our military went into Canada it ended in disaster, sooner or later. Maybe as we headed north our gunpowder froze!

[curiouswombat]

and when that didn't happen they organized an invasion of Canada

Because freedom to choose your own government was what it was all about... :P

[ozma914]

British troops had come down out of Canada to attack the colonies, and the British were also arming and encouraging attacks by the Natives in the region (that's a whole other issue!) Honestly, if Canada started shooting missiles at us today, I'd want to take action, too. Luckily the Canadians are much too nice for something like that!

[cbtreks]

Bremen celebrated on, I think, June 16 this year. Mid-June anyway. The fireworks are tied into the Firemen's Fair, but the fair has been creeping earlier and earlier into the summer over the past few years. I like firemen just fine (Hello Captain Stanley!*) but I think it might be time to separate them from the fireworks.

*40 years ago it was "Hello Johnny Gage!" But the last time I watched Emergency! it was Captain Stanley who caught my eye. I don't know if my taste has improved or not as I've gotten older....

[ozma914]

I always preferred the firefighting stuff to the paramedics stuff on Emergency!, so I liked the Cap too--but not in the same way. Actually, the one who fascinated me was the engineer, Stoker, after I found out he was a firefighter in real life.