To quote Bill Pullman as he played the President in the Will Smith 1996 blockbuster, "Today is our Independence Day!"
It is of course tomorrow, but I am working Saturday and Sunday, so we are having a cookout a day early. The local fireworks are tonight as well, probably so the local government can get a cheaper rate.
I have always been fond of the Fourth of July because my father's side of the family is dyed-in-the-wool, came-over-on-the-second-ship-after-the-Mayflower New Englanders and my ancestor Roger Sherman was the only man to sign the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation as well as the US Constitution. John Adams described him as "that old Puritan, honest as an angel."
Roger was not exactly a stick in the mud, though, fathering thirteen children with two different wives, so he has plenty of descendants. I will probably join the Daughters of the American Revolution as soon as I get a spare minute but will probably be the only one under 55 unless I can convince my sister to join with me. The website I looked at actually lists the members as Mrs. John Smith, Mrs. William Jones, and so on. I haven't seen women do that since I worked in the university newspaper archives one summer.
Whether your family came over with the mammoths, the Pilgrims or yesterday on United Airlines, welcome home to America! Happy Independence Day!
Friday, July 3, 2009
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7 comments:
Have a Happy July 4th.
Wow, a decendant of a signer of the D of I! How cool! I'm a decendant of what my paternal grandmother called the "Lace Irish Catholics". They came over during the potato famine of 1840 and settled in Ohio. My paternal grandfather was German and my maternal grandparents were French and Scot. So, I'm--like President Obama--a mongrel.
We're cooking out tomorrow and playing cards. Our family is big on card games. Y'all ever heard of Dumb Bunny Bridge? Happy Fourth of July everyone!
Wow Marie - you have such a fascinating background. Happy 4th of July from a Canadian.
Jane, thanks and happy Fourth to you as well.
Juliet, believe me, on my mom's side of the family we are from every corner of northern Europe plus Winnebago Indian and French-Canadian trapper. Maybe I should celebrate Canada Day too!
Tennismom, Happy Canada Day! Most of us who write for Harlequin have Canadian editors, who have the greatest accents. We had a great time in Toronto a few years ago with them. A funny story--we looked all over for a donut place but never could find one. Turns out Tim Hortons is a donut chain--we thought it sold hamburgers and never bothered to look inside! And Harvey' hamburgers are really good!
Marie
That's too funny. Come back anytime. We don't have accents - you do LOL!!
Happy 4th to you, Marie! My own family honor - I'm both a Mayflower descendant and a first generation immigrant...from Canada, no less! So this is a fun holiday for me, to be sure. Have a great day!
Anne
Hope you had fun yesterday Marie! Sorry you had to work.
Happy 4th everyone!
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