Hope youre enjoying all the traditions this weekend!
Yep! 235 tomorrow. Not bad for an experiment in democracy. 081.gif America!
081.gif US of A.
May you all have a wonderful day tomorrow and thank you all for making me so welcome :clap_hands:
Just don't throw my tea into the harbour please.
We will be flying the flag, dousing ourselves in the cement pond filled with chemicals in the back yard, and burning dead animals.
And having a beer or so.
Yes, the traditions WILL be upheld!
Quote from: HatterDon on July 04, 2011, 03:30:35 AM
We will be flying the flag, dousing ourselves in the cement pond filled with chemicals in the back yard, and burning dead animals.
And having a beer or so.
Yes, the traditions WILL be upheld!
From what I remember, you wont be "burning" dead animals, but will be turning them into a delicious exquisite BBQ outing. Didn't you post some picts of your artistic BBQ ways a while back?
No, I think somebody photoshopped a July 4 celebration at the casa.
Oh, for those of you keeping track, four slabs of St. Louis cut ribs in the New Braunfels smoker at 0656. They should be ready around 1330 or so. I also have tons of sausage and some chicken legs ready for the hordes who should be dropping in around 1400. My mother in law, who moved here from California on Friday, will probably miss the festivities to rest, but bunches of her relatives will be here.
A disturbing note: For some reason, there's a city-wide shortage of Dos Equis Amber, so I'll be drinking Ziegenbock -- a South Texas brew inferior to, but cheaper than Shiner.
Far be it from me to lecture you Americans about the 4th July but its worth remembering that today isn't just about beer, bbq and baseball.
Take a minute to remember what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honour. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
Freedom is never free.
True, but not a one of those 56 dead dudes would turn down ribs and beer on a hot, sunny day like today.
Thanks, FC.
and 081.gif USA!
ribs out of the smoker and resting at 1300. The smoker's work is done, but now the grilling starts. It's hotter than a mother out there, but hey! Must prepare for the starving hordes!
Thanks for that Silver Fox. People today are taught history from a 21st century perspective. They think of the founding fathers as a bunch of "old white dudes" when they were, as you so accurately explained, men of honor, vision and courage. They put their money where their mouths was. Unlike revolutionaries of today who think smashing a shop window takes courage, they stood by their beliefs and paid the price.
Don, I'm sure they wouldn't pass up a properly prepared, roasted animal chunk and certainly a cold brewski but I think what SilverFox meant was that when you sit down at that table, raise your glass to them because without them the world would have a lot less hope. :beer:
Happy 4th to all and thanks Brian for the history lesson which I have never heard. Amazing collection of circumstances for our founding fathers.
I spent the whole day in Davis, CA at the bike races. VERY hot day.
Enjoy your families!
I have never seen a celebration quite like the one I witnessed in Jacksonville Beach last night. Absolutly incredible. Fireworks up and down the beaches for miles and miles.
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on July 05, 2011, 11:38:59 PM
Freddy, are you being ironic or racist? Sometimes it's hard to tell with you.
Quote from: HatterDon on July 06, 2011, 01:29:02 AM
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on July 05, 2011, 11:38:59 PM
Freddy, are you being ironic or racist? Sometimes it's hard to tell with you.
Freddy, that is not something to banter easily about over here. They didn't have the 100 years of war of the roses, but their bit was very ugly while it lasted and people are very sensitive about it. S001.gif
