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One of the rituals of summer in our little town is the Volunteer Fire Department’s carnival, fireworks display and parade. They missed 2020 due to Covid, and 2021 because by the time the State said they could have a carnival, it was too late to organize one. They bounced back in 2022 with a smaller event. When it was clear that residents were ready to support them, they came back strong in 2023 and again last week.
I like to do my part. I go to the carnival and buy 21 food tickets for $20. I never use all 20 tickets, but you never know when you might want to snag a burger for the walk home. I also buy a beer, and I toss a tip into the fireman’s boot (tips go toward their scholarship fund).
They have the carnival this time of year because today, July 4th, is a national holiday here in the U.S. Today, we celebrate our independence from the ‘U’ in “color,” “honor,” and “favor” and from the need to be exceptionally polite when waiting in a line—sorry, queue. I do wish our founding fathers had retained the rights to produce sticky toffee pudding.
Of course, we had other reasons for declaring our independence—all good ones.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
U.S. Declaration of Independence
That’s why I periodically use the caption I have on the flag photo that I’m using today. We need to recognize our independence, but also the fact that it applies to everyone. We also have to remember the people who fought for this independence in the first place and the people who have fought to maintain it for almost 250 years.
Off my soapbox now. If you’re in the U.S., I hope you enjoy the 4th and the long weekend that follows.
If you’d like to be independent of full prices, you can purchase When Evil Chooses You for $0.99 through Saturday. Follow the link in the widget below.
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
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