Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts - July 4

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts is hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. This is a chance for book bloggers to dabble in areas besides books (but those are welcome too). Share your plans for the weekend, a rant on people not using their turn signals in parking lots, or your love of Sunday morning mimosas.

One of my favorite parts of vacation is spending the Fourth of July on the Manteo waterfront. We walk the boardwalk, eat at The Hungry Pelican, and listen to the 208th Army Band at the Roanoke Island Festival Park Theater before the amazing fireworks display starts.

It makes me sad, however, that our country is so divided. Instead of drawing on what we have in common, our differences pull us apart. My sincere prayer is that we can learn to find that common ground again. The days following 9/11, it didn't matter which side of the aisle we were on or if we were right in the middle. We all stood together as one. We were Americans first and liberal, moderate or conservative second. How we responded to that tragedy and the humanitarian efforts we see during other tragedies is what makes us great. The freedom to express our own opinions is what is wonderful about America, but it is us acting with honesty, integrity and respect for all that should define us as a nation. We are the great American melting pot, and it is only when we blend together and work for the common good that we can be all that we are destined to be.

May you have a blessed Fourth of July.

Happy Independence Day!

We weathered Hurricane Arthur last night. Didn't even lose power; just the front porch screen. Actually, I hear the weather at home has been wicked too. Hope you're enjoying some sunshine and warmth.

Here's wishing our readers a happy, healthy, and safe Fourth of July!

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids

Check out the coloring pages, crafts, games and more to help kids celebrate the Fourth of July featured at DLTK's Crafts for Kids: http://www.dltk-kids.com/usa/

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July to our readers!

Happy Independence Day!

As America celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have served and who are currently serving in the U.S. Military and their families.

God Bless America!!!

God Bless America
by Irving Berlin

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Here's another excellent song that celebrates America:



To see Lee Greenwood's actual video you can go here.

Lastly, though I'm sure you know it, here are the lyrics to America's National Anthem:



The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!