Thank you, Amos.
Last night I attended one of the best Independance day celebrations I have ever known. A wonderful couple, both in their 80s, hosted a soiree on their deck overlooking Mt. Monadnock. The air had finally cooled to a bearable sweetness after several sultry days, and in the course of the evening the host stood up and read the Declaration of Independance (abridging it by reading only a few of King George's infractions). By the end of the reading his voice was ragged and emotional. He concluded, "Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to the United States of America!". He then had one of the guests light a small cannon he keeps for the purpose- it fired into the woods and we all toasted our country for the freedoms it originally stood for.