It’s 5 a.m. as I begin to type out this 4th of July edition of Screencaps, and I’m left wondering if any of the founding fathers had a 13-year-old son who begged to run a 4-mile race before the Continental Congress sat down to adopt the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago today.
Here I am this morning celebrating freedom with a 7 a.m. starting line meetup time for Screencaps Jr. with thunderstorms in the area. I was in bed last night by 9:30. It was probably a very similar night to the one Benjamin Franklin had on July 3, 1776. He was 70 at the time and about to sign the most important document in the history of the world the next morning. One has to believe Franklin got in the sack early ahead of his big day.
So now I’m up and ready to experience a day and a world that the Declaration signers wouldn’t believe. We’ll probably stop and get a coffee made by purple-hair LIBS at a drive-thru in our 2023 Honda Odyssey while listening to a radio powered by satellites. Thomas Jefferson’s head would explode over the thought of Americans sitting in line at Starbucks and scrolling through a phone with 24/7 internet access and the ability to communicate in real-time with humans around the world.
Just think, we can send a text from our couches right now and tell people in Great Britain to eff-off.
Based on records from July 4, 1776, we know that the boys got together at 9 a.m. for a meeting. Horseflies were a major issue. It was 76 degrees that day in 1776. The record also states that the boys were wearing heavy wool coats and silk stockings in the middle of summer in Philly. Just imagine!
Now, with the freedoms extended to us due to that precious document signed that day, we now have access to sweat-wicking long-sleeve shirts, mainly made in China, that help us battle the sweltering sun.
THE LESSON WE CAN LEARN FROM BICENTENNIAL HISTORY IS TO PARTY LIKE IT’S 1976
Times sure have changed.
Unlike our drunken 4th of July parties where people will ultimately blow off their fingers, Jefferson’s hand-written diary entries show that he spent the 4th by going out to a Philly bookstore to buy a thermometer and then to another store to buy gloves for Martha Jefferson.
Now, 250 years later, many of us will spend our night blowing up Chinese-made fireworks while drinking beer brands owned by foreign nationals.
AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN
The calendar changes, but what remains is that we are the luckiest people in the history of the world to call this our home. The work put in by the founding fathers 250 years ago today paved the way for us to experience lake weekends on our big, beautiful boats and for us to go out our backdoors to jump in our pools without some scumbag Brit telling us how to live.
Now it is up to all of us to continue forward to ensure that this American experience exists 250 years from now. We cannot forget that there are always scumbags laying in the weeds to destroy everything we hold dear in life.
Don’t let Tom Jefferson and Ben Franklin down today. Do it for them. Do it for this country. Do it for the future generations. Go celebrate. I’ll do just that later today after this 4-mile road race where Screencaps Jr. will run for freedom.
– Marty H. writes: Haven’t written in a while; sounds like you had a great golf trip. How to celebrate 250? The most American of events: Rodeo. Mrs. H and I took in the opening night of the Days of the Old West Rodeo in Hailey yesterday. Pure Americana and infused with patriotism. Talk about doing hard things – not much harder than attaching yourself to 1,600 pound bull with a flank strap tightened to make him even more irritated.
And only using one hand to hang on. If you’ve never been to a rodeo, put it on your bucket list.For the actual 4th of July I’m going to be in the parade! Organizers asked for American Legion members to ride a horse drawn wagon tribute to veterans. I haven’t been in a parade since I was a kid. I encourage eligible Screencaps veterans to consider joining your local American Legion, particularly if there is an active post with a legion hall. It’s a place you can talk about your service with others that understand and also do service to the community like Legion baseball. Find your local hall and just show up. It’s a welcoming group.
– Adam in Sidney, NE emails: Stars and Stripes. The #3, and taking pride in your yard. Hope the guys who built this house in 1943 would be proud.
– Kevin in Toboso tells me: Please no WNBlgbqtA or soccer stories today. Let’s have some golf updates from your trip, some baseball coaching and mowing updates. Anything that normal, 250 celebrating AMERICANS would enjoy. We need more Terrys lighting off fireworks from their wheel chairs celebrating this great nation.
Have a great 4th of July and thanks to the men and woman who have served.
Kinsey: See Terry above.
– Chris W. in California writes: Hope you enjoyed some well deserved time off. Print this / don’t print this but as we get closer and closer to celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. of A. I’ve been thinking a lot about what that means for our country at this current time.
There has been a lot said in various outlets about how the current political climate makes it difficult to fully celebrate America on the 250th anniversary of it’s founding. I won’t get into what’s being said because we’ve all been hearing or reading it but what it ultimately boils down to is some groups of people not feeling very patriotic at the moment.
I won’t get too deep into the weeds with this but my political views are a very mixed bag. I am probably much more liberally minded then certain readers of your column and likewise maybe slightly more conservative than others. I have some issues with a lot of what is going on in this country on both sides of the aisle and at times it has made me mad, dejected, sad… you name it. Heck, I live in Los Angeles County in California, for my money, the worst run county in the worst run state in the Country. I think pretty much all of our state politicians are a joke and have made the Golden State almost unlivable and now some of those idiots want to run the entire country.
On the flip side there are certain federal policies, actions, you name it that have taken place or are taking place that are alarming, upsetting, you name the emotion, they’ve evoked it… and yet… I’ll be damned if this isn’t the single greatest country in the history of the world, full stop, no question, the end.
Why do I feel this way and why should everyone else feel this way? Does our country have some things in its past that we shouldn’t be proud of? Yep, every great civilization does. Is there a level of insanity, vitriol and stupidity that is infiltrating almost every aspect of our modern society, regardless of your political or religious views? Yep, damn… I guess that’s what happens when people have so much FREEDOM!
If you’re Republican or Democrat you can say this right is being attacked or this ideal is in danger, blah, blah, blah. So what? And I’m not making light of those concerns but it got me thinking.
When Bud Light made the boneheaded Dylan Mulvaney decision and there was all the backlash was anyone dragged out into the street, Dylan Mulvaney included, and hung in the town square? No! Instead people voted with their wallets and not a single person was harmed except maybe some marketing guys getting a tongue lashing.
When the decision on trans athletes was made the other day by the Supreme Court were the Justices swarmed by an angry mob and beheaded on the spot? No!
Heck, political based violence has reached an all time high, we have a sitting President that has had multiple attempts on his life, Charlie Kirk was assassinated, there was the January 6th riots and what has happened? NOTHING! No government has been overthrown, it hasn’t lead to civil war, it’s only galvanized various groups who have used that galvanizing force TO VOTE!!! To vote in free elections without a gun to their head, to walk into a balloting place without fear of reprisal decide the direction of this country.
There is no denying there is a lot of $#!+ going down left and right but has ANYONE in this country become less free over the last 2, 4, 8, 10, 20 years? Yes, inflation sucks, yes gas prices HURT and it may be making some of us tighten our belts a bit but can ANYONE reading this column honestly tell me they will go to bed tonight worried they will be dragged out of their house in the middle of the night and imprisoned or killed because of their beliefs?
Is there ANYONE reading this column that doesn’t believe that with the right amount of work and perseverance they can own a place to live, keep it safe and provide the bare essentials for themselves and their loved ones?
Politicians will continue to be idiots and attempt to screw things up more and more but so what? In what other country can you a policy, a ruling, a decision you don’t like and through legal means fight it with years of bureaucracy, lawyers, advocating and blood sweat and tears.
I live in California, a state with some of the dumbest policies in the world. A state where I could have someone break into my house and after I shoot them I get in trouble with the law for defending myself. Yet, IF that were to happen I am also utterly convinced I could fight whatever comes my way with an army of lawyers, advocates and every boring, mind-numbing legal means that has been put into place over the history of our country.
Our country is frustrating, it has always been frustrating for someone, somewhere but every single person reading this column can spend the 4th of July grilling burgers and hot dogs, drinking beers and trying not to blow themselves up while their wife or girlfriend runs around in a swimsuit or cut-offs and their kids play on a piece of property you hopefully own or at least rent. Your significant other won’t be stoned in the street for showing a little leg, your kids won’t be executed because of your or their religious beliefs and when the last firework has gone off and everyone lays in bed, bellies full, clothed, with a roof over their head everyone will have have enjoyed, LIFE, LIBERTY and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
Regardless of what the talking heads say, or the people that seem to can’t find anything right with our country, despite the bureaucrat’s attempt to screw it all up, this land we call home, over 250 hard-fought, sometimes fraught years has been built to last and it has been built to be something that may sometimes frustrate us, but also as something we should ALWAYS we be proud of because there has never, ever, ever been another country that has provided what this country can provide? If you don’t believe that then you are simply ignoring the countless freedoms and graces that are being waved in your face, every minute of every day. And if you still don’t believe that then go watch any of the countless videos of all the people from other countries, here regardless of race, creed, religion, enjoying the countless things our great country has to offer.
Don’t let politics get in the way of celebrating something truly worth celebrating. Happy 4th to everyone and God bless America!
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And with that, I think we’re ready to roll on this important holiday. It’s time to get Screencaps Jr. to that starting line so he can do his thing. He had a four-hour swim party on Friday, so let’s see how his legs hold up.
Let’s go celebrate freedom.
