I was asked recently to put together a patriotic playlist for the parade this weekend. A lot of songs were requested. But out of all of the songs I found, only ONE reduced me to tears. It is amazing how places, songs and smells can stir up old memories so close to our hearts, so much so, that we have a physical reaction. Only those who TRULY know me, will know why this is the song that is beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Happy 4th of July. May we remember freedom, may we remember who fought, may we remember the past, and .... may my whole family remember the cops who showed up on our doorstep every 4th of July to find a grown man with a mischievous grin on his face... asking the officers to kindly forgive him for his pyromaniac show in our backyard. The pinwheels, the illegals, the fuse racing, the roman candle battles... and the explosions. Live on in our hearts... may we always remember his laughter on his favorite holiday. Here is the song:
Annoying right? Were you even able to finish the whole video? Sadly, your television assaults you with the same kind of annoyances, and you sit idly by... flipping through channel after channel of NOISE. Because that's all it ever really is. NOISE! I will be forever grateful for my mother and father pulling the plug on us kids back in the day. They dared us to go off of TV for a whole year when we were kids. In that year, we imagined, played outside, read books and truly lived. It was such a successful experiment, that my mother and father challenged us children to give up TV completely until after we graduated from high school and they would, in turn, award all 7 of us children $1000 dollars each. We did, and our grades went up, our social lives grew, we joined sports, none of us were obese and we actually lived life to the fullest. I did it with my children as well, and there has NEVER been one negative side effect to taking a TV out of a home.
To quote one of my all time favorite movies, Auntie Mame:
"Life is a banquet.... and most poor suckers are STARVING to death!"
