Is the 4th what it was?

Amen, Brother. To all of you downrange-Happy Independence Day. Thank you.

I love the 4th of July. Always have. As a little 'un, Dad taught me how to blow stuff up proper. We'd pack mud on top of cherry bombs and blow up models, coke cans, and whatever else we could sneak away without Mom getting wind of it. He also explained what it meant . The reason for the day. It always rang in my ears like a bell. Lately the bell hasn't been ringing so loudly. I still love this land, her flag, and that piece of parchment wrote so many years ago; I'm just not sure about our leadership. I love this mix of frontiersman, immigrants, gamblers, thieves and whatever else scraps Europe couldn't tolerate, but there is a cloud that is sneaking in from the back of my mind. Sometimes it almost feels like someone is looking over my shoulder in the dark, just out of sight. It's kind of a dread that looms. It's hard to shake, sometimes backing away for a while and then suddenly rushing up on me like a pack of wolves. I wish I could shake it, but I think it's going to take all of us; I mean EVERYONE. Question is: When will the other 99% wake up? Have you? All I can do is prepare. I just hope when the alarm goes off, and they all wake up, it's not to the sound of the foundation crumbling from beneath  us.

God bless Old Glory and all she stands for-

Don't try trampling on her, some of us still give a damn.

Y'all have a good 'un. Sorry it's been so long.