Happy Fourth of July!

First off, I want to wish you all a happy, and safe, Independence Day.

As I type this, I can hear the fireworks go off in the distance. I can only imagine the blues, whites, greens, reds, and all other sorts of colors exploding against the dark sky. In my mind, I can see the little children oohing and ahhhing at it all, while their parents watch their faces, thankful they were able to survive all the obstacles this pandemic has thrown at them so far.

So why am I not sitting alongside them, experiencing my first Independence day in one of America’s birth places?

Well, simply put, there are a couple reasons why I’m not watching the fireworks.

One: although I’m sure the fireworks here are more spectacular and have a bigger budget than the shows I’ve seen in Winslow, Maine, it isn’t something that excites me anymore. Don’t get me wrong! I still think fireworks can be fun and exciting! But for now, I’m content in not having to see them this year.

Two: I never liked the crowds and the trouble of finding a good seat up in Winslow. If I thought it was bad then, I can only imagine how much more crowded it must be in a bigger city!

And Three: I know my cat Spooky doesn’t like loud noises – they frighten her and make her want to run and hide. Because she’s in a new environment and hasn’t even been here for a month yet, I wanted to stay with her and make sure she knew I would be right here. To some, this may seem silly. After all, I’ve heard it before, and I’m sure I’ll hear it a thousand times over: She’s just a cat. That statement may be true for you, but for me, she is a member of my family. It would be the same as comforting a terrified child through a thunderstorm. And the last thing I need is to come home late at night, only to find out that in her attempted escape from the noise, she had somehow gotten out and was lost in the city.

Those reasons being said, I am still thankful of our forefathers willing to risk their lives for something they believed in. That even though there were so many obstacles in their way, and huge possibilities of losing the war, and ultimately their lives, they were willing to risk it all for the right to say they were free.

I’m not saying everything they did was right. There’s of course the slaves so many of the Declaration of Independence signers owned, the copious “Schools” Native American children were sent to in order to “cleanse” their culture, and so many other strife other cultures and races had to go through that I may not know about.

What our forefathers did for our new country was a start in the right direction. Now it’s up to us to continue making right decisions, uphold the words “We the People”, and stand strong for Liberty and Justice for all.