I hope all enjoyed the outstanding 250th celebration of Independence Day! It was a very special day in the Trade home. The grill was sizzlin’ as is the heat in this neck of the woods. Spent the evening watching the DC celebration on TV while Daughter and family enjoyed the area fireworks show on their boat out on the local lake. We went outside this evening some as well since the fireworks around us were pretty special. It went on until about 2:30 AM. It has been so hot and humid you could cut the air with a knife even at midnight.
Quick Berberine Update
Following up on last week’s health update, I wanted to bring up a product wifey has started taking instead of the NOW version of Berberine with a separate cinnamon supplement. The positive results hit quickly. If it meets your budget try the following:
It absorbs into your system easier and more quickly. It has the ceylon cinnamon and milk thistle supplements in the same capsule. It’s still relatively early in her retooling, but it sure looks she is saying buh-bye to Amlodipine for good. BP is great everyday and no spikes in months.
Past Independence Day Celebrations
Casting aside the times of my youth that were painful, the good times we had as a family and community have me reminiscing. I began thinking back and remembering the July 4th tradition our family had that was inspired by my WW II veteran father when I was a growing up in the Middie land of southwest Ohio. Even in an active battle zone of a home from warring parents at times, which lasted until his death; around the 4th it was a simpler time of fun, laughter and no responsibility. There were also specific orders to not get in too much trouble, which I managed to disobey a time or two. 😇
I remember the splashing of water from garden hoses and slip ‘n’ slides on the ground in the yard. Water balloon fights were held when it was more fun to lose than win. A game of Jarts (lawn darts) would threaten to poke holes in young bodies, but was fun none the less.
Cornhole of today is just a wussy version of Jarts of yesteryear.
At some point in the day there would be an ice cream or popsicle. Like most days in summer, there would always be the climbs to the top of the maple tree in the front yard. Funny, we never heard any parent say not to do it or we might fall and break our necks. Folks seem to let kids be kids more and none of us fell out of the tree. Jumped – yes. Fell – no.
😄
Then there were the bike races up and down the sidewalks terrorizing the neighborhood. There were the clothes pins that attached baseball cards that made the spokes on the wheels give off slapping noises to help mimic a loud exhaust of the muscle car or Harley in our young imaginations. Sometimes we would hit the the monkey bars at the playground of our school down the street. It was open to the public everyday, no attorneys to kill the fun and make the school put up fences to keep us out. When dinner would roll around there were picnics with lots of choices.
None of the parents were worried that something bad would happen to us. People were different back then. I am sure bad things happened occasionally in some places, but we were unaware. We had the run of the whole area as kids and nobody ever got hurt beyond a scrapped knee or accosted by a pervert. The adults seemed to always look out for one another’s kids anyway. Nobody was a afraid of being sued or falsely accused of a crime. So many of the fathers were military veterans. Messing with the kids would not be on any wannabe thug’s or pervert’s dance card.
One 4th celebration we visited the new Armco Park as a family; a company owned recreation park for employees of the old Armco Steel Company. Steel mill friends of my dad would gather there and invited us to tag along. They cooked out on grills while families enjoyed all the fun things to do. It was there that I ate my first grilled spare rib and it was heaven. They had a 100+ acre lake in which to fish and ride pedal boats. It was a nice environment to walk hiking trails and play on the softball fields. The park still exists. It was sold to the county a couple of decades ago by the Japanese corporate majority owner of Armco. A link about the park is below.
https://www.warrencountyparks.com/warren-county-armco-park
It was also there that I first grabbed a golf club and played their short executive course with my dad and some of his work friends. I never forgot it. I was hooked even though I knew we would never be able to afford for me to play. It inspired me to be a 12 year old caddie at a local golf club near our house. It was the only time I caddied while not really knowing anything about how to do it. It rained like crazy and the golfers quit after 7 holes. Caddies were paid only by tips and I received nothing, which is exactly what I deserved. The golf bag felt like it weighed as much as I did and I ruined a pair of shoes in that rain. I never went back, the experience was miserable along with my caddying.
Our rites of summer around the 4th always included a pick up baseball or softball game that would get going with the adults choosing sides. Paper plates would serve as bases. The team with the youngest players always won – wink, wink. The fireworks would start with sparklers, firecrackers, black cats, M80’s, and bottle rockets. It was amazing what could happen when they were stuffed into empty Coke bottles. 😂 If our parents could manage the time with wild children running everywhere, we would go to a park area in town where the city would have a fireworks show.
Other evenings around the 4th and in the summer would bring a quieter time in our home’s small sun room. Dad’s Zenith multi-band radio sat out there in warmer weather months. Each evening in the summer and especially around the 4th we would gather around the radio and listen to a Cincinnati Reds game on whichever assigned radio station of the team for the year – WKRC, WCKY or WLW – unless they were playing on the west coast. We did not have air conditioning back then; but did have a fan, Cokes, and the cool of nightfall to help us enjoy the evenings. If the game was boring or out west and on too late for me to stay up, the fireflies (lightning bugs) out in the back yard would keep us entertained until it was time to hit the sack.
I wonder why it all seemed so right? Hmmm…
Public Service Announcement
IT IS TIME TO BUILD THINGS AGAIN, AMERICA!!!
In those days – the late 50’s into the 60’s – America was about building, exploring, innovating. We still had pride in our country and people. We worked TOGETHER. Well, at least until the globalist cabal scum and neocons with the help of the clowns, murderers, race hustlers and thieves took control of our government and media. In the process they shipped a lot of our younger working age men to southeast Asia to die or drug themselves into oblivion.
See how that works? Don’t fall for it again, America. Head down, eyes on the prize. The Golden Age awaits. Instead, let’s go back to rewarding character, hard work, and using intelligence that is useful to humanity. Let’s defend against overreach of government tyrants and those who would use and abuse. Let’s introduce true justice for all and have stiff penalties for those who commit acts against this nation and its citizens. Let’s ignore or even ridicule the propagandists along with the fake judges. Let’s focus on substance, not silliness and minutia. Let’s center ourselves on what God would approve and whole lot less on carnal desires. Let’s also spend more time on enjoying our lives and each other.
Back To The Story
College and the Arkansas misfire years brought very few memories of activities around the 4th. An occasional fun charity golf tournament or barbecue outing would occur, but life there was not focused on celebrating our nation and its independence. That was probably because there were so many Democrats in the state back then. 😂
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/06/poll-finds-only-27-percent-democrats-plan-display
Fortunately, the Huckabee’s and other We the People patriots reversed the Arkansas curse of Demoncraps in control and keeping the state from fulfilling its promise.
Moving to my beloved hills of east Tennessee and later marrying the love of my life, the stars began to align as they should. People here were far more patriotic and wanting to celebrate. There were huge fireworks shows in the city along with the famous annual 4th of July music celebration with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra at the former World’s Fair site that is still a thing today. Country music stars and tourists poured into the area. Some stars performed outside Dollywood in Patriot Park among other venues that were followed by fireworks shows. Tennessee is known as the “Volunteer State” for good reasons. Patriot pride runs deep and has served our nation well over centuries.
Even our neighborhood got together around the 4th. One year a recently divorced neighbor friend opened his property for all of us. He had 40 acres with horses for the kids to ride. We gathered at his place and nuked some burgers on the gas grill. Everybody brought covered dishes and the kids played outside until it was time to light sparklers and firecrackers in the evening. Wifey and I were inside our friend’s home talking with neighbors when our young daughter came in with big eyes and said, “Fire!” We all laughed and told her that, yes, those were sparklers and the grill was smoking; that all was OK. She shook her head and said, “No – fire!” and pointed toward a field beside the home.
Yup, the kids had set the brush on fire throwing sparklers and firecrackers around. It had been a dry period and conditions were prime for a wildfire. All of the adults sprang into action and got the water hoses going while putting out all of the sparklers. Our friend, who was in law enforcement, called the area’s volunteer fire department to make sure. So the kids were treated to the firemen and fire engines, which they thought was the coolest thing ever. When finished the firemen stopped to enjoy the scene with the kids, showing them the equipment and letting them activate the siren and lights. The food and beverages were made available and enjoyed by all.
When we got home that evening Daughter looked at both of us and said, “See, told ya there was a fire.” She has never let us live it down. However, I concede the little booger might have prevented a much bigger problem from happening.
😂
Special Salute To Vets
I am going to focus on one who I knew the best, however, please know that our family has the deepest respect for every man and woman who has served our nation in uniform. God bless all of you.
In my Veteran’s Day story about our fathers, I did not know what I have since discovered in research concerning my father’s service in the Naval Air Force in the Japanese theater of WW II. He never completely opened up about those days. He was always modest about himself, his accomplishments and connections in life, so it is not all that surprising. I think I now know more about why.
Soon after the victory by our forces at the massive bloodbath known as Okinawa, Dad’s wing was assigned to the air base established on that Pacific island. I have a dozen old photos he took of it while stationed there. He was a radar/radioman/electrician on the newly revamped PB4Y-2 Privateer bomber that had a crew of eight. There are lots of photos of it and his mates. The Privateer was first derived from the B-24 Liberator used in the German theater. With this upgraded version they were assigned patrol and bombing duties of shipping routes along the coasts of Korea and China. In 1945 there were only a small number of the planes placed into service as the design and manufacture was still being adapted and performance monitored before going into full production. It was designed to excel in low altitude flying conditions when they targeted ships with new radar guided glide bombs. Basically, the wing of bomber personnel Dad was assigned to were the flight and electronic beta testing (guinea pigs) for this redesigned plane. There were reasons to believe the plane would perform well, but nothing was known with certainty yet.
Each plane had a dozen 50 caliber guns and was able to take on Japanese fighters successfully. As you might guess the primary gunner was nicknamed “Gunny” and Dad had previously told me he was quite good at his role along with the pilot. He never expanded on his role, but Dad had been trained to employ their Electronic CounterMeasures (ECM) that could detect enemy radar and communications. I found his training manual and designation in his old military records. ECM was critical to their survival due to the low altitudes they flew in their assignments. It turns out Dad’s proficiency probably contributed greatly to his crew mates survival and mission success. Growing up, I always wondered how he developed an uncanny ability to isolate his concentration on one thing when everything around him was in chaos. Finding this information and learning more was a light bulb moment for me all these years later.
After learning those things I dug deeper into historical naval reports and discovered that safe returns were not always the case with others in their wing. For example there were three flight crews in his wing that performed similar missions that were lost in the same month of July 1945. Two were lost after successfully bombing Japanese ships, but went down in the ensuing battle. They were lost off the Korean coastline. The other was lost after a run somewhere further out to sea. There were no survivors in any of the three.
He never discussed any of that. When I asked he would just say their crew was assigned patrol. Based on the old photos that he took from the plane as well as of his crew mates, there was much more that he just did not want to discuss. He had even taken a couple of aerial photos of Nagasaki post Fat Man (atomic bomb) that was dropped by that B-29 Superfortress. Dad’s crew were assigned patrol in the area afterwards. There were many photos of life in Shanghai, China, including some of the locals, residences and other buildings. He preferred to focus on the good and just did not want to go into detail about the dangers and horrors of war he experienced, which was typical of him. He saw himself as a protector of his family and friends living his own predestined life until it was time for it to end.
He did say he was just doing his job and what was right. Most of his mates were like him in that they were just kids when they enlisted, however, many came out scarred and hardened men. In contrast I appreciate the kindness my father openly displayed with everybody even more now than I did when he was alive. He let many of the hits of life slide off his back including the issues with his mentally ill wife, my mother, who made all of our lives miserable at times. This is one extremely thankful and proud son who can always look back and be confident that I loved, honored and respected my father while he was alive. That continues with his memory. Wifey felt the same way about him as he was always kind and helpful to her. She knew she was loved. I felt the same about her awesome veteran father.
These revelations from the research have brought added meaning to that folded flag from his military honors burial ceremony that is on display in our home. We take comfort in knowing he along with her father helped America achieve its 250th birthday and miss them both every single day.
Greatest generation, indeed.
It’s Your Turn
This would be a good time for me to conclude and open the thread to comments for all of you to share your experiences and memories of this very important holiday in our nation’s history.
Happy 250th birthday, America! May God bless and protect this nation for as long as time exists.
Always remember JFK’s famous quote – “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.“
Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.
Before all things and people – In God We Trust. Also, trust Trump and the plan.