Friday, July 4, 2014

May the Fourth Be With You

Thought for the day: Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.   Moshe Dayan

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OK, for today, America's birthday, let's take a look at some appropriate quotations while we're waiting for the cake to come out of the oven, shall we?




 "As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of the civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."  George Washington

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." Albert Einstein

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit."  Kahlil Gibran

 "I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool, the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise that fact by speaking." Woodrow Wilson

"We must not be free because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."  William Faulkner

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."  Thomas Jefferson

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."  Erma Bombeck


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And a quick poem by Carl Sandburg:

                                                 Fourth of July Night

                 The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.
                 A white sky bomb fizzed on a black line.
                 A rocket hissed its red signature into the west.
                 Now a shower of Chinese fire alphabets,
                A cry of flower pots broken in flames,
                 A long curve to a purple spray, three violet balloons ---
                Drips of seaweed tangled in gold, shimmering symbols of mixed numbers,
                Tremulous arrangements of cream gold folds of a bride's wedding gown ---
                A few sky bombs spoke their pieces, then velvet dark.
                The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.
                               
                             


                                                     
I hope you all have a wonderful ... and safe ... Independence Day. Oh yeah ... know what one flag said to another? Nothing, honey... it just waved. (Sorry)

Oh yeah... for any of you folks in the UK who might be interested: from July 1 until the 8th, my book Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade is on sale through Amazon.uk for next to nuttin', honey.

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

88 comments:

  1. I saw what you did on your heading.....
    So clever !
    You have a wonderful 4th

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Thanks! Glad ya like it. I'm starting to have fun changing the header to match the post. (Not sure how long I'll keep on doing it, though.)

      We did! I hope you did, too.

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  2. A beautiful post, Susan. Happy fourtha!

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    1. Thanks, dude. I hope you and your family had a terrific fourth, too.

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  3. Thanks for sharing the wonderful quotes. I've read a lot of Sandburg, but I don't think I've ever seen "Fourth of July Night". What an appropriate vignette for the 4th.

    Have a great Independence Day, Susan!

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    1. I'm glad you like the quotes and poem, cowboy, and I hope you had a wonderful 4th. Cool temperatures, no dust, no noise, hot BBQ, and cold beer...

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  4. Enjoy your Independence.

    Ah, freedom - such a complicated word. Freedom from intrusion, from government interference, from censorship ... freedom to do whatever you like (to steal, pillage ...) I love the complications of our cultures!!

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    1. Thanks. I do! Some people complain about the erosion of freedom in the name of greater security, but we (meaning you, too) still enjoy more freedom than most of the world. (And since you've traveled to so many places, you know that far better than I.)

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  5. Happy Independence Day.
    Love the quotes - and the poem. Thank you.

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  6. "You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." Erma Bombeck".....Indeed an apt quote.
    Wish you a healthy, wealthy birthday America!
    Happy independence day Susan!

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    1. Isn't that a GREAT quote? Erma Bombeck was a national treasure and talented writer.

      Thanks! I hope you had a happy day, too.

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  7. My hope for humankind is summed up in that quotation from George Washington.

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  8. Erma, how we miss her. She was a wonderful, funny lady who always made us laugh.

    Not so funny is the quote from Thomas Jefferson, a man who kept slaves, 6 or 7 that were his children.

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    1. Yes, I loved Erma. One of my favorite articles is the one she wrote for her children, telling each one why he was her "favorite."

      Good point.

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  9. Happy independence day, hope you have a great day, and one miffed pup too,

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    1. Thank! It was terrific. My hubby and I knocked pool balls around on our table for a while. First time we'd done that in a while. (And we're still pretty darned good at it!)

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  10. Happy July 4.....great Bombeck quote....we do it the same way over here.

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    1. Yeah, I think there are a lot more similarities that cross the border than there are differences.

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  11. Love the Bombeck quote most of all. I intend to be very patriotic today. ;)

    Happy 4th to you and yours!

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    1. Yeah, Bombeck sure had a way with words, didn't she?

      I hope you had a super day. (Um, you can have a super day TODAY, too... and tomorrow...etc. etc.)

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  12. I love the Erma Bombeck quote. She had such a great way of connecting truth to humor.

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    1. Me, too. She certainly did, and she'll always be one of my favorites.

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  13. Love the quote by Woodrow Wilson - ha! How true! And Erma Bombeck.

    Happy 4th to you :)

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    1. Yeah, it sounds like Wilson had more of a sense of humor than I'd realized. Erma? The best.

      I hope you had a super 4th, too.

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  14. "You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."
    ~ Erma Bombeck

    Best quote of the bunch.

    I think I'm going to oversleep and call it super-patriotism!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. HA! Yeah, I like that one too.

      I hope you enjoyed a super super-patriotic day of fun. And sleep.

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  15. Enjoy your 4th! Love the Erma Bombeck quote. I will recall it later while eyeing my sun-warmed potato salad askance.

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    1. We did! I hope you did, too.

      Yeaaaaah, there's something about potato salad and the great outdoors. (You just have to eat it fast!)

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  16. Erma is always good for a chuckle and a "yeah, so true." I liked that Woodrow Wilson quote too. Family, friends, flies, and fireworks. That's a celebration. Enjoy

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    1. Sounds like we have a lot of Erma fans on here. Yeah, I liked Wilson's quote, too. I always get a special kinda kick out of finding humor where I don't expect to find it.

      I hope you had a super 4th... full of family, friends, flies, and fireworks. On second thought, without the flies.

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  17. Happy 4th!
    Love the Erma Bombeck and Carl Sandburg quotes :)

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    1. Thanks! Happy fifth! (Preferably, bourbon...) Seriously, I hope you had a super Independence Day.

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  18. I LOVE all the quotes you selected, Susan.
    Excellent!

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  19. Happy 4th. This google thing has been a nightmare for me, and I'm finally getting here now... and remembering I never left that book review... heading to Amazon...

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    1. Thanks! I hope you and your family had a super 4th.

      WOW! Thank you so much for that wonderful review. I truly appreciate it.

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  20. Happy Independence Day to you, too!

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    1. Thanks! It was very... freeing. I hope you had a super day, too. (In spite of the rain.)

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  21. Hey Susan,

    Here's wishing y'all a super, duper, gosh darn golly gee whiz n'stuff Fourth of July. I think I'm starting to flag after reading your um, joke. Waves goodbye, y'all!

    Gary:)

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    1. Hey, Gary. Thanks for the good wishes... they came true! But oh no, you aren't allowed to flag yet. It's your birthday! I hope you have a good one.

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  22. Happy fourth of July!!
    Where's the cake, I brought my own fork...

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    1. Thanks!

      In the kitchen, but there's the slight possibility that it might be a tad stale by the time you and your fork get here.

      Delete
  23. Whoa, I'm going to post that quotation by George Washington on Facebook and tick off my conservative relatives right before a family reunion on Sunday!

    Off to make mischief ...

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    1. HA! I hope you didn't tick 'em off too badly. (But hey! What's a family reunion without a little bit of good old-fashioned arguing?)

      Happy weekend!

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  24. Hi. Loved all the quotes - and I reckon your post title was one of the cleverest of the lot :-) Huge congrats on your book being published - will check it out on Amazon UK - hope all is good with you and yours. Karla

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    1. Hey, Karla! It's great to hear from you again! I hope you're doing well. Glad ya like my corny title. Thanks... if you read my book, I hope you enjoy it. (There should be enough "corny" in there to keep you happy.)

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  25. I hope you totally enjoyed the forth of July... I had a quiet Canada day but a busy weekend with my oldest daughter leading up to it... I ended up relaxing.

    Awesome quotes Susan.. I love anything that inspires :)

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    1. We did; I hope you did, too. Relaxing is gooooood.

      Thanks. Me, too!

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  26. Replies
    1. On behalf of the country, I say, "Thank you, Keith!"

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  27. Happy Independence Day! :-)

    Greetings from London.

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  28. "You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." Hilarious! Love it. I also love that you put a clip from the Nashville fireworks. I live in Nashville and the media here is having a fit that we were ranked second-best fireworks show in the world. I told my husband, there's always some association or organization who is willing to say yours is among the best for the publicity!

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    1. I think every city likes to boast about various claims to fame, whether they're true or not. (For example, we've been to several "sock capitals of the world." HA!) In doing the posts on various states, I've discovered that many of them claim to be the "best" or "first"... at the very same thing. You're right; it's all about the publicity and PR. I dunno how Nashville's fireworks rank, but all I know is they looked wonderful to me!

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  29. Hope you had a great 4th of July!

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    1. Thanks, Nas! We did. I hope you had a bang-up weekend, too.

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  30. Hi Susan! I hope you've had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, full of fun and hilarity, rest and recuperation, bliss and peace!

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    1. Hi, Becky! We did... all that good stuff. I hope you did, too.

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  31. I love celebrating our independence. The older I get, the more important I realize it is...and boy, are we fortunate!! Hope you had a happy!!

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    1. Absolutely. For all the complaining some people do, I feel very fortunate to live in the good ol' US of A. I hope you had a happy, too.

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  32. I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend.

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    1. We did! Thanks. I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too.

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  33. hope you had nice holidays, Suze!

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  34. now ol' pres jefferson had nerve. didnt he own slaves? what a hippocrate. cheers!!

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    1. Yep, you're absolutely right. Someone else pointed out the same thing. How ironic... and hypocritical of him.

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  35. Hope you had a great 4th! Love the cute dog with the patriotic sunglasses.

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    1. We did! I hope you did, too. Yeah, that dog is a cutie, but he doesn't look very happy about wearing those glasses.

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  36. Hiya, Susan. I hope you had a great 4th! Erma Bombeck's quote is my favorite of the above. Smiles.

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    1. Hi-ya, kiddo. Yeah, Erma was the best, but talking about the best, I can hardly wait to hear about YOUR (ahem) adventures...

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  37. Erma was also my favorite, but Woodrow Wilson's quote still rings true! Hope you had a great 4th, Susan!

    Julie

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    1. Ahhh, there you are! You've been so email quiet lately, I was starting to worry about ya...

      I hope you had a super fourth, too.

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  38. what an awesome celebration you put together! i love quotes! my faves are jefferson and bombeck =) poignant! and a lovely poem as well!

    and thanks for commenting on my broken branch falls blog tour!

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    1. Thanks! I think everybody loves Bombeck.

      My pleasure.

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  39. Okay, the Erma Bombeck quote gave me the biggest smile. Thanks for sharing. I hope you had a lovely Fourth.

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    1. Yeah, Erma is always good for a smile... or a few tears.

      We did! I hope you did, too.

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  40. Loved Erma's thought. Here's to an amazing nation and the unique freedoms it enjoys...and hopes to continue to enjoy for a long, long time. =)

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    1. Yeah, me, too. Erma's the best.

      Absolutely... your words to God's ears.

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  41. Funny dog ..
    :D
    Greeting
    You asked for comments and follow my blog
    http://putyourheartshere.blogspot.com/2014/07/jessica-simpson-weds-eric-johnson-so.html

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    1. Greetings, Andiri. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I do appreciate it. Those glasses look pretty funny on the dog, but he doesn't look too happy about wearing them.

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  42. That Erma Bombeck quote has always been one of my favorites. Hope you had a lovely Fourth.

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    1. Hi-ya! Welcome back.

      I hope you had a lovely Fourth, too, and a super blog-break.

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  43. Hi Susan .. Happy Fourth a week late! Love quotes and now spend more time looking at them, when I see one around the place .. or read them on people's blogs ..

    Having just come across a statue to Edith Cavell in London recently - the words on it brought home the horrors of WW1 and how to deal with them:

    "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone."

    Brought me back to earth ... we need to remember always - especially those that did so much for us .. cheers Hilary

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    1. That quote you cited is terrific. I've been jotting down quotes that tickle my fancy for a long time. The trick is being able to find the quotes I want when I'm looking for them. That can be pretty tough, because I don't have them organized very well.

      Cheers!

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