HAPPY JULY 4

It is a beautiful day in Montana with only scattered thunderstorms predicted--sure hope one of the "scattered" does not rain on our parade this afternoon. We are having 32 guests for a July 4 cookout--friends and neighbors.

With our granddaughter Laci soon headed to Iraq or Afghanistan the reason behind July 4 is even more on our minds this year. Someone sent me the following in an e-mail and I would like to share it with you--HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY.


I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful. God bless our Military who are protecting our country for our freedom. Thanks to them and their sacrifices we can celebrate the 4th of July.

I watched the flag Pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it, And then he stood at ease..
I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud, With hair cut square and eyes alert He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom isn't free
I heard the sound of Taps one night, When everything was still, I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant 'Amen,' When a flag had draped a coffin. Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea Of unmarked graves in Arlington . No, freedom isn't free.
Enjoy Your Freedom God Bless Our Troops.