Yes ...I am still here...I will right about my news next time...have NOT been feeling up to anything lately...that DEMON has me again...it is winning right now...just not up to anything...but I did want to wish you ..my dear friends a very HAPPY 4TH OF JULY...I hope you have a WONDERFUL and SAFE holiday...and PLEASE take a moment out to remember those serving our country...Enjoy the few lil pieces of inspiration below:
What Is An American?
Being an American is not evident by a particular skin color or way of life. He
is a person from many places, with many shades of skin, of different sizes and
varied energies. He has a Master's Degree, or he may never have finished high
school. He may drive an expensive automobile, or perhaps relies on two mules
to carve his living out of the earth. But regardless of what he is, beneath the different physical features is a bond of strength in tradition which exemplifies
the American way; a way which opens doors of opportunity to all peoples who
may knock upon them. An American has a spirit which was born when the bells
tolled of independence, and which has released the adrenaline of his nation time
and time again when its existence was threatened by an aggressor.
An American does not view armed conflict as a means of getting what he wants,
but rather as a means of protecting what he has. He is the one who loves the very concept of peace for all nations, but will not hesitate to fight on the shores of
others to protect his own. An American sees the knowledge of experience in his
past, feels pride in the accomplishments of the present, and has hope for the
future of the world, even when others would view the days tocome with
dismay. But a realistic American finds no guarantee of freedom or security
in the future solely because he has always had it in the past.
An American recognizes the faults of his system and seeks to correct them
through a process unknown to many nations. A process which does not promise absolute perfection, but one which allows for peaceful change, if change is
needed. That process is democracy, and an American holds that word so dear, that he stands ready at a moments notice to lay down his life for its perpetuation!
An American finds nothing at all unusual about getting cold chills when his flag
passes in review, for his flag has always been a source of inspiration; when the
smoke cleared over Fort McHenry, when its sheen was reflected on the sand
of Iwo Jima, and when the colors glistened on the side of the craft which took
the first man to the moon. An American sees nothing strange about getting a
lump in his throat when the National Anthem is played, or weeping unashamed
when taps is played for one who paid the ultimate price for his freedom. He
realizes that the only thing that exceeds that price is the freedom itself. An American never forgets the indebtedness he has because of that sacrifice,
for without it, his freedom would only be an unreachable concept in some philosopher's mind.
A true American is the essence of pride in a way of life. What is an American,
you say? He is blessed! He is free! And with great pride I say..."It is me!
I am an American!"
Being an American is not evident by a particular skin color or way of life. He
is a person from many places, with many shades of skin, of different sizes and
varied energies. He has a Master's Degree, or he may never have finished high
school. He may drive an expensive automobile, or perhaps relies on two mules
to carve his living out of the earth. But regardless of what he is, beneath the different physical features is a bond of strength in tradition which exemplifies
the American way; a way which opens doors of opportunity to all peoples who
may knock upon them. An American has a spirit which was born when the bells
tolled of independence, and which has released the adrenaline of his nation time
and time again when its existence was threatened by an aggressor.
An American does not view armed conflict as a means of getting what he wants,
but rather as a means of protecting what he has. He is the one who loves the very concept of peace for all nations, but will not hesitate to fight on the shores of
others to protect his own. An American sees the knowledge of experience in his
past, feels pride in the accomplishments of the present, and has hope for the
future of the world, even when others would view the days tocome with
dismay. But a realistic American finds no guarantee of freedom or security
in the future solely because he has always had it in the past.
An American recognizes the faults of his system and seeks to correct them
through a process unknown to many nations. A process which does not promise absolute perfection, but one which allows for peaceful change, if change is
needed. That process is democracy, and an American holds that word so dear, that he stands ready at a moments notice to lay down his life for its perpetuation!
An American finds nothing at all unusual about getting cold chills when his flag
passes in review, for his flag has always been a source of inspiration; when the
smoke cleared over Fort McHenry, when its sheen was reflected on the sand
of Iwo Jima, and when the colors glistened on the side of the craft which took
the first man to the moon. An American sees nothing strange about getting a
lump in his throat when the National Anthem is played, or weeping unashamed
when taps is played for one who paid the ultimate price for his freedom. He
realizes that the only thing that exceeds that price is the freedom itself. An American never forgets the indebtedness he has because of that sacrifice,
for without it, his freedom would only be an unreachable concept in some philosopher's mind.
A true American is the essence of pride in a way of life. What is an American,
you say? He is blessed! He is free! And with great pride I say..."It is me!
I am an American!"
I AM THE UNITED STATES
I was born on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is
my birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in my veins,
because I offered freedom to the oppressed.
I am the United States.
I am 185,000,000 living souls, and the ghost of millions who have
lived and died for me.
I am Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. I stood at Lexington and fired
the shot heard around the world. I am Washington, Jefferson, and
Patrick Henry. I am John Paul Jones, the Green Mountain boys, and
Davy Crockett. I am Lee, Grant, and Abe Lincoln.
I am the Brooklyn Bridge, the wheat lands of Kansas, and
the granite hills of Vermont.
I am the coal fields of the Virginias and Pennsylvania; the fertile lands
of the West; the Golden Gate and the Grand Canyon. I am Independence
Hall, the Monitor and the Merrimac. I am big. I sprawl from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, three million square miles throbbing with industry. I am
more than 5,000,000 farms; I am forest, field, mountain and desert. I am
quiet villages...and cities that never sleep. You can look at me and see
Ben Franklin walking down the streets of Philadelphia with his bread
loaf under his arm. You can see Betsy Ross with her needle. You can
see the lights of Christmas, and hear the strains of "Auld Lang Syne"
as the calendar turns.
I am Babe Ruth and the World Series. I am 169,000 schools and
colleges and 250,000 churches where people worship God as they
think best. I am a ballot dropped in a box, the roar of a crowd in a
stadium, and the voice of a choir in a cathedral. I am an editorial
in a newspaper, and a letter to a Congressman.
I am Eli Whitney and Stephen Foster. I am Tom Edison, Albert Einstein,
and Billy Graham. I am Horace Greeley, Will Rogers, and the Wright
brothers. I am George Washington Carver, Daniel Webster, and Jonas
Salk. I am Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman, Thomas
Paine.
Yes, I am the Nation, and these are the things that I am. I was conceived
in freedom, and, God willing, in freedom will I spend the rest of my days.
May I possess always the integrity, the courage, and the strength to
keep myself unshackled, to remain a citadel of freedom and a
beacon of hope to the world. I am the United States!
-- Author Unknown - Obtained from: Speaker's Source Book for Talks to Teens (1966)
I was born on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is
my birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in my veins,
because I offered freedom to the oppressed.
I am the United States.
I am 185,000,000 living souls, and the ghost of millions who have
lived and died for me.
I am Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. I stood at Lexington and fired
the shot heard around the world. I am Washington, Jefferson, and
Patrick Henry. I am John Paul Jones, the Green Mountain boys, and
Davy Crockett. I am Lee, Grant, and Abe Lincoln.
I am the Brooklyn Bridge, the wheat lands of Kansas, and
the granite hills of Vermont.
I am the coal fields of the Virginias and Pennsylvania; the fertile lands
of the West; the Golden Gate and the Grand Canyon. I am Independence
Hall, the Monitor and the Merrimac. I am big. I sprawl from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, three million square miles throbbing with industry. I am
more than 5,000,000 farms; I am forest, field, mountain and desert. I am
quiet villages...and cities that never sleep. You can look at me and see
Ben Franklin walking down the streets of Philadelphia with his bread
loaf under his arm. You can see Betsy Ross with her needle. You can
see the lights of Christmas, and hear the strains of "Auld Lang Syne"
as the calendar turns.
I am Babe Ruth and the World Series. I am 169,000 schools and
colleges and 250,000 churches where people worship God as they
think best. I am a ballot dropped in a box, the roar of a crowd in a
stadium, and the voice of a choir in a cathedral. I am an editorial
in a newspaper, and a letter to a Congressman.
I am Eli Whitney and Stephen Foster. I am Tom Edison, Albert Einstein,
and Billy Graham. I am Horace Greeley, Will Rogers, and the Wright
brothers. I am George Washington Carver, Daniel Webster, and Jonas
Salk. I am Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman, Thomas
Paine.
Yes, I am the Nation, and these are the things that I am. I was conceived
in freedom, and, God willing, in freedom will I spend the rest of my days.
May I possess always the integrity, the courage, and the strength to
keep myself unshackled, to remain a citadel of freedom and a
beacon of hope to the world. I am the United States!
-- Author Unknown - Obtained from: Speaker's Source Book for Talks to Teens (1966)
INDEPENDENCE DAY
“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land,
for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and
managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget
that great truth, and we never should. Happy Fourth of July.”
- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States (1981)
“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land,
for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and
managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget
that great truth, and we never should. Happy Fourth of July.”
- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States (1981)
HUG those you LOVE........PEACE!!!
like I do now and was just typing away...when I was just about finished and the lights went out and there went my entry...GEEZ....then I tried again and my puter just decided to give up...it was tired of being on so it rebooted by itself (which seems to be happening a lot)...so purely out of frustration I just stopped trying to do an entry...It really takes a lot for me to sit and gather my thoughts enough to write...there are days that my mind feels like it is in such fog....and my thoughts scattered that my motivation to write is not there. I just want to say for the record...Boy--Those Entries Were Good...lol
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