Aloha Everyone,
Whenever J.J. and I return to the United States from one of our overseas travels, I always experience a profound sense of gratitude for being an American.
Today we celebrated our nation's 240th birthday. Our family had a gathering at my niece's home where there were 7 children and 9 adults and a lots and lots of foods and merriment. However, the highlight of the day was at night when darkness enveloped the city. Then the fireworks started. My granddaughter and I slept in the 2nd floor bedroom of my Mother's house and watched the spectacle. At times we were enthralled and mesmerized by the colors, speed, design, size and very loud noise.
We talked about the meaning of independence and why we celebrate the 4th of July.
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." --Abraham Lincoln
"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." --Thomas Jefferson
Aloha -- Cathi