Happy Independence Day!

Minutes ago another calendar day ticked away and the official 4th of July holiday began. Americans, ready those barbeque pits and fireworks, and somewhere in the middle of it all, refelct on the meaning behind the celebration.

Time for Families
This holiday finds me spending time with my Mom. In my thinking, what better way to celebrate than to enjoy time with the people most precious in your life.

Time for Thankfulness
Certainly while family and fun is a part of the holiday, the ultimate cause for Americans is to recognize national heritage, history, and identity. I tend to merge Independence Day and Memorial day in my mind. Both of my grandfathers were in WWII in the days when it was called "the service", one of them driving a Higgins boat made famous in the movie Saving Private Ryan. Regardless of your politics, I believe today is a great day to honor those past and present who sacrifice to contribute to the continued freedom of America and her allies. In a way this could be seen as a global holiday in that we should all be thankful for the universal liberties and freedoms we all share, our international friends included.

Meaningless Drivel
Since I can't be completely serious for an entire post, please let me share these two revelations I had yesterday:

1. Oliver North is a perfect physical composite of CNN's Anderson Cooper and Pres. George Bush combined. If you have ever played the "who does that person remind you of?" game, you'll get where I'm coming from. North looks just like a cross between the Prez and Cooper.

2. As far as world leaders go, I've decided Prime Minister Tony Blair is the most handsome. ....Maybe it's the accent?