Today is the 4th of July and for years we’ve skipped the fireworks. Not that seeing things explode in midair and turn pretty colors isn’t cool, there’s just too much that goes along with viewing fireworks that get in the way. Traffic jams, mosquitos (my daughter is allergic to them), the wait, nasty people seated near you and people who may have perhaps imbibed a bit too much all tend to lessen the effects of the pyrotechnical display for me.
Besides, have you ever really thought about what fireworks represent? War, battles and true munitions. I don’t think that when the people in our armed services hear the boom of munitions exploding they are looking up at the sky and saying “ooooooo” and “ahhhhhhh” look at the pretty lights. So, with that thought in mind, I just don’t NEED fireworks to make the 4th important to me.
What I did for my 4th of July was to visit with my family, read a post from one of my children about his feelings and experiences dealing with the loss of a grandfather her never knew during a military operation years before he was born and visit the web site http://www.anysoldier.com . There I found the name of a contact person in active duty and in harm’s way who will distribute my letters and care packages to any soldier, sailor, marine, coast guard or air force member within their unit who doesn’t get much mail. It’s not like EVERYONE has tons of family they are close to. Even I have a brother who has chosen not to involve himself in our family anymore. Sad but true, some of our soldiers are putting their lives at stake so that we may enjoy our grilling and fireworks and yet they have no one here at home who supports what they are doing! How wrong is that?! (Ok, I’m not going to discuss the politics here, because that’s not my point. My point is solely that good people are doing dangerous jobs and love to hear from home.)
Now I just have to collect my goodies, pack ’em up and write a few letters and then I’ll feel like I’ve spent my 4th focusing on the people that matter and not some pretty lights in the sky. If I want pretty lights in the sky, I’ll go see the Aurora Borealis… now that would be MY kind of show!
Snippets and Tidbits 