Tag Archives: Fourth Of July

Independence Day 2025

Posted in Holidays by

Happy Fourth Of July. This year America celebrates 249 years of existence.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I love this country for many reasons but especially for the beauty found in every state.

I love this country because it offers us cities, towns, suburbs & rural locations we can call home or admire from afar.

I love this country for the seasons offered to each region, especially the splendor of autumn in New England.

I love this country because it is my home.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I also love this country for the artists it has given us.

Woody Guthrie may have written this song as a snarky response to “God Bless America” (written by Irving Berlin in 1918 during WW1), but Guthrie’s words describe much of the physical beauty in this country quite eloquently.

Without him, we would still have Robert Zimmerman, but probably not Bob Dylan. Without him, there is no 1960’s folk music revival. There is no voice of that generation using songs to express the need for change.

I grew up singing Guthrie’s song during music class in elementary school. I could envision the places he mentioned and longed for the day I could see them myself.

Happy birthday, America.

“This land is your land, and this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

There was a big high wall there
That tried to stop me
A sign was painted said “private property”
But on the back side it didn’t say nothing
This land was made for you and me

When the sun come shining then I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

This land is your land this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me”.

Top: Ellis Island, New York, circa 1900. This is where my family arrived from Italy somewhere around 1910. Middle: Woody Guthrie singing aboard a New York City subway train sometime in the 1940’s. Bottom: One of my favorite places in this country, Vermont. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Woody Guthrie: “This Land Is Your Land” (1945, written by Woody Guthrie).

Stay safe & well.

Summertime Blues

Posted in Decorating by

We are unofficially in my least favorite season. Nearly seven decades ago a wise young man sang about it, too, so yes, hating the summer is a real thing for some. In fact, an article by Psychology Today called it Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder. Ergo, summer makes me S-A-D. And it is nice to see I am not alone. There are even Facebook groups about this condition. I have found my people.

Top reasons I hate summer:

  1. Heat.
  2. Humidity.
  3. Heat & humidity.
  4. Bugs, especially flying ones that sting or bite.
  5. Lack of decorating opportunities.

(Image by me.)

The last reason especially is quite disconcerting to me. Many years ago I would set up a patriotic display just before Memorial Day and leave it as is through Labor Day. That way it covered both those holidays along with Flag Day and July 4th in between. I do not mind showing my pride for this “land that I love”, but after over three months, it gets a little stale. But since I am not a fan of the other looks popular with this season-coastal, nautical or beachy vibes-my choices seem limited.

I cannot seem to find my summer decorating staples like flags & stars, so for now I am using what I have in variations of red, white & blue to inspire me a little. Oh, and my Charlie Brown in perfect patriotic attire celebrating America’s favorite past time is a bit of whimsy from an old dear friend until the glory that is fall arrives.

(Image by me.)

So until the unofficial end of summer, I’m singing right along with Eddie Cochran (“…there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues”).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: July 3, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Happy birthday, America. Let freedom continue to ring.

As our great country turns 247 years old, let’s mark the occassion with two takes on the holiday. The first is a not so traditional but unbelievably fabulous rendition of a song celebrating this great land of ours by one of its greatest treasures.

“O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea“.

Ray Charles circa 1968. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

And for a fun take, let’s join one of America’s favorite sons in his “boardwalk life” with a stop at a “little seaside bar” to hear one of “Madame Marie’s” fortunes before she gets busted.

“Sandy the fireworks are hailin’ over little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this fourth of July
Down in town the circuit’s full of switchblade lovers so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark“.

Bruce Springsteen circa 1985. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Ray Charles: “America The Beautiful” (1976, lyrics written by Katharine Lee Bates, music written by Samuel A. Ward).

Bruce Springsteen: “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” (1973, written by Bruce Springsteen).

Stay safe & well.