How to celebrate the 4th of July

[LadyFisher]

If you have an American flag please display it this weekend. (They really are not expensive.)

If you see a military person in uniform, say "thank you for serving!" A smile would be nice too.

Want to support the troops? Here's where and how to do so: [url=http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/:8b142]http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/[/url:8b142]

Our sincere thanks to all who are serving and who have served in the past.

Fair warning: the 1st negative/anti post on this will be removed, along with the person who posted it, permanently.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[SilverMallard]

My brother just came in from Iraq and I'll be heading down to his condo in AR on Tuesday to spend a few days fishing the Spring River with him. This is an annual 4th of July thing that someone in my family has been doing since the 1970s. For the past several years it has been the two of us and our wives. My wife can't make it this year, but that's OK...more fishing time.

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Fishing the Ozarks

[This message has been edited by SilverMallard (edited 01 July 2005).]

[rrhyne56]

James Lileks had this to say on his blog this AM
<A HREF="http://www.lileks.com/bleats/archive/05/0705/070105.html" TARGET=_blank>" I would be highly remiss to call any of the contrusions I?m facing ? most of which I cannot describe in any detail, alas; patience ? as ?problems.? They are, at worst, situations, and at best opportunities. A ?problem? is taking fire when you?re in a helicopter heading off to rescue comrades. I was listening to Hewitt?s show today about the SEALs shot down in Afghanistan, and felt abashed for having anything on my mind by a song and a smile. These are the men who make my fat happy life possible, who will jump on a plane and go to Venus on behalf of people whose idea of sacrifice is taking a few minutes to sort the plastic from the glass on recycling night. Puts things in perspective.
Anyway. The doorbell rang tonight, and my wife answered. She traded the check and the coupon for a nice hot pizza.

I never have to worry about who?s at the door, or why they?ve come. My heart never leaps when the doorknocker falls; my stomach never flips when the phone rings."</A>

That summed it up far better than I could have, never having to have your heart leap when the door knocker falls. Hats off and deepest thanks to all who make that possible for us!


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RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:095e7]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:095e7]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com

[SW Ladyfish]

There's lots of small ways to say "thank you"! I met a young man on an airplane coming from Rome last week. He was polite and said "Yes, or no, ma'am" whenever I spoke to him. He was on his way to Norfolk for additional training before being deployed to Iraq in 3 weeks.

He asked the stewardess on the USAIR flight for a set of headphones so he could watch the movie. When she said, "$5.00", he said, "Thank you ma'am; but, never mind." I reached for my purse to hand-over the $5.00; but, before my wallet was even out, the stewardess said, "Are you in the service?" "Yes, ma'am" he replied. She handed him the earphones with "USAIR's Thank you" and said, "They always say Yes Ma'am".
I'll be flying USAIR again...

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men,who signed the Declaration of Independence? They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,and their sacred honor. They signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.


5 signers were captured by the British, labeled traitors,and were tortured before they died.

Twelve signers had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two signers lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another signer had two sons captured.

Nine signers fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.


What kind of men were they...
24 were lawyers and jurists.
11 were merchants.
9 were farmers and plantation owners.
Many were ordained Ministers of the Gospel.


Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties topay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British
that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson
home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed,and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and hischildren vanished.

Some of us take these liberties so much for
granted, but we shouldn't. Always remember that "Freedom is never Free!"

Steven H. McGarthwaite
Platoon Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired
1968 -1995

Postscript: "Old Glory" flies every day over my home, in the "land of the Free"!

I also had the honor of serving with the 3rd Infantry Regiment(not to be confused with the 3rd Infantry Divison, which is a different orginzation) "Old Guard" the first infantry unit to be formed by the Continental Congress, first saw battle at Long Island NY, under General George Wasthington. General Washington, named his only Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Infantry, so the British might think there was a 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiment, somewhere in the area.

It still serves our country today (oldest military unit in the U.S. Military, as the Honor Guard at Arlington Military Cementary.



[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 01 July 2005).]

[splitditch]

One of my first memories a long,long time ago. I was playing with a toy on the living room floor. There was a knock at the front door, my mom got up and went to the door and let in a young man in uniform. They stood and talked for a while, then he left. Years later she and I were talking over old times and I asked her if she remembered that, and she said she did, and that the young man had been a friend of hers in school. He was shipping out and stopped to say goodbye. A short time later he took part in the D-Day invasion. I told her it was funny I remembered something like that. She told me while they were talking I went over to him and pushed against his legs and told him to leave and she told me to stop and I went off crying. Then she told me he died in the water, never made the beach. I?ve often thought about this young man. The one I told to leave.

God Bless those that keep us free.

God Bless America.

My American flag will be up. Wish it were big enough to be seen for miles.

[William Fitzgerald]

My American Flag is always up with the brightest light I could find at night time.

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Bill

[billknepp]

Thank You, Steven H.,

That was a highly enlightening post,have always been enthralled with the history of the beginnings of this great nation,
and the whole of the civil war era.

Happy Forth to ALL!!!!!!



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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best

"Wish ya great fishing"

Bill

[jpc]

Happy and safe Fourth to all on FAOL.


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~~ C
Travel Adventures
[url=http://go.travela.com/faol:5c900]http://go.travela.com/faol[/url:5c900]