This is the fifth time in my life that I have been outside of the United States on its birthday. Three of the Fourths were spent in France, one in the middle of the Yucatan Channel and now high on the hill in Potrerillos Arriba, Panama.
My family actually had a part in the creation of the legend of the Fourth of July. My maternal and paternal forebears came to America’s shores in the 1630s. It is legend in the family that one member actually took part in the original Boston Tea Party. I wonder what he’d think of today’s lunatics who have adopted the Tea Party name for their own warped ideas of what America should be. And where were they when George (putting the W into AWOL) Bush and the Republithugs were spending money like drunken sailors (my apologies to drunken sailors everywhere)? These slugs didn’t show up until a person of color moved into the White House. It is important for us to remember that it wasn’t conservatives who fought for America’s independence. Conservatives are, by the very definition of the word, opposed to change. The conservatives of the time of the American Revolution were known as Tories!
Today’s Tea Party Patriots scream that they “want our country back.” Did they actually lose it? And where would they take it back too? Back to singing “God Save the Queen” instead of:
One More Good Adventure 
Happy July 4th! I hope the day was delightful. I was trying to remember how many July 4ths I’ve been out of the country for. My best guess is also five (3 Liberia, 1 British Virgins, 1 Canada) although there may have been one more Canada when I was a kid.
The video is just priceless – and yes, I’ve passed it on already. It brought back some great memories – when I was in high school I played clarinet in a community band, and our July 4 concert always ended with The Stars and Stripes Forever. Love Sousa.
Thank goodness for our country, that’s what I say. There are a lot of good places in the world, but I’m happy to be here.
When I was in high school I played flute and piccolo in both the school band and the town band which was made up of high school students and adults. Learning the obligato for Stars and Stripes Forever was the hardest piece of music I ever got through, but I really enjoyed playing it at the town band’s Fourth of July concerts down at the beach. Ego can be a horrid thing.
As soon as I read the word “piccolo” I knew!
If I could whistle I could whistle it now. Isn’t it funny how a piece of music can embed itself – even something as difficult as that.
Speaking of summer concerts and New England, here’s a little bit of “home” for you.
Rockport Legion Band
If you’re in our area, please drop in on one of our summer concerts which begin on Sunday, July 11 and continue through August 29. We begin at 7:00 P.M. and play a true cross section of American (and other) music.
Thanks for visiting us.
The Rockport Legion Band
If you’re in Potrerillos Arriba, Panama, when the summer’s over please drop by for a cold Balboa Cerveza.