Ah the 4^th of July – this mid-summer celebration means parades, picnics, and popping eardrums! I remember parades, church picnics, and carnivals growing up. Our little Coastside town hosts an old-fashioned parade every year where practically the whole town turns out to march down Main Street, little kids decorate their bikes with red, white, and blue crepe paper streamers, and big kids shine up their hot rods. While some light a sparkler or two in the twilight, crowds wait impatiently for the fireworks guaranteed to light up the sky with dramatic displays of color along with the sonic boom explosions. Perhaps you will take a picnic to the beach, to a local park, or to your backyard. I hope you have a chance to spend the day with family/friends expressing gratitude to our ancestors for this Independence Day.