Happy 4th to all the Americans here.

Hope you all have the best holiday possible.

I loved the picnics and miss the ones here at the USAF bases.

Have fun.

Pen, are you an American posted with the U.S. military in Britain? At least, that's what your message sounded like.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, even the non-Americans, since the Declaration of Independence was the second major step (the first being the Magna Carta) to lead the world towards a workable democracy.

This afternoon, we're going to have a barbecue for the international students. We'll fix hamburgers and hot dogs and all the trimmings. We'll do dips and chips and SALSA, which several girls from China have fallen in love with. They've made one older woman in our group promise to teach them sometime how to make salsa because that's her speciality. I'm also going to make pineapple fried rice because you can make very large batches of fried rice without any more complications than a small batch and because then they'll have something to remind them of home.

In the afternoon, we'll have swimming, as long as people bring their swimsuits. At the last pool party/BBQ, only Americans brought swimsuits, so that wasn't as much fun. But I think we'll get more to go in the pool this time after all.

It occurred to me (sorry, men!) that perhaps one reason some of the students hesitate is that most of the students are girls, and if they are on their periods, they are discouraged from using tampons. I remember asking about buying tampons when I was teaching in Taiwan, and my sister said no, they won't sell them to unmarried women because there is a stupid believe that tampons mean you are having sex. So maybe this is an element to our problem. But I don't know how to address it. I actually had a roommate from China who, even when she was in college, would be taken to the doctor every year by her mother to be reassured that her heimen was still intact. She was terrified that she might do some sport or something that might cause it to break accidentally, as does happen from time to time. I know that a close friend of mine didn't have a heimen to break when she got married, and she had remained abstinent, but she also had been a cyclist.

But anyway, off that topic and back to our barbecue. After dinner, we're going to play games, such as Uno (a crowd favorite), Skipbo (one I'm going to introduce to them), Yahtzee (another popular game), and Twister (another new game for the group). I think we'll have some fun with that before the fireworks start.

My parents' house sits overlooking the Arroyo Seco of Los Angeles, so you can see part of L.A. and part of South Pasadena, and even part of Alhambra. And all the areas put on firework shows. Plus, Dodger Stadium always puts on a big show. We are just on the wrong side of the hill to see the Rose Bowl fireworks, but it is quite near as well. So we just go to the backyard to see our firework show! It's rather fun this way!

A special YouTube video for today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfjZj4NY7EM

This is my cousin's husband's cousin. A Minnesota boy who grew up and eventually moved to California--finding great success in a Hollywood career! Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July.

Cheryl

Sadly no Vicki. For all of my growing up years (and some) we had loads of bases here, and every 4th they had a big base picnic.
The USAF and USN have gradually withdrawn and there are no bases hear here any more.

Last 4th we had here was probably15 or more years ago.....really miss them.
Everyone was welcome and we were all american for a day....

My daughterand I used to watch the movie "1776" every Fourth. this year we are watching Independence day - what great destruction scenes!

One sad note this holiday is this poll:

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Happy Fourth of July dear American friends!!!!!

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Risa

Richard, your post reminds me of when my mom taught U.S. history to junior high. All her students were either immigrants or children of immigrants, so they didn't get U.S. history at home. She had divided the Civil War into two segments because there was so much info, and after the exam over the first segment, one student came up to her and asked, "Who won?" It really served as a wake-up call to my mom just what kind of demographic she was teaching.

I don't think it's that they don't care as much as it is that they are so busy fighting for their own daily survival that they don't stop to think about what things from the past helped them get the rights that lead to that survival.

On another note, I was just telling an Armenian friend who is getting an M.A. in poli-sci how John Adams expected July 2 to be our Independence Day, since that was the day they voted to separate from England and to have the Declaration of Independence. July 4 was merely the ratification of the draft of the Declaration of Independence. And I read in one book that we ought to call it "National Horsefly Day" because it was extremely hot, and there were a lot of horseflies in Independence Hall. The states were wrangling over petty details, but because they were so bothered by the flies, they more readily compromised!

Just the other day, I watched the episode of the signing of the Declaration in the miniseries of John Adams from HBO. Since we don't get HBO, my mom has to wait until they come out on DVD to get her shows from there. What struck me was what a moment it must have been when 12 states voted for the Declaration, with none opposing (New York abstained). Not only how exciliarating but how terrifying it must have been too! They had just signed their death warrants, although none but John Hancock actually signed the paper then, and the copy sent to the king didn't have any signatures. But still, he had to know who was there at the meeting. I can't even imagine the courage it took for those men to take such a step, when England had the most powerful military in the world!