In a July 3 letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams made this prediction: The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with [Shows], Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
One of the quirks of history in that the Declaration was actually passed by the Continental Congress on July 2nd but it took two days to prepare the final draft for signing. Which is why we celebrate the 4th as Independence Day. Other than that , Adams was accurate in his prediction as to how the holiday would be celebrated. This year I celebrated the 4th by working the 13 Colonies Event and made a clean sweep including the two bonus stations. My application for the certificate is in the mail as I write this. If you did not participate this year, you owe it to yourself to work it next year. If for no other reason than to hear so many people say, "God bless America", on the air. http://www.13colonies.info/ Later as I popped a brewski, I watched the fireworks from Washington, DC. Probably the best fireworks this year IMHO. Seeing the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial outlined by the glow of colors from the pyrotechnics was awesome. The music included the performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture by the US Army Band. The musical score calls for the ringing of church bells and volleys of cannon fire. Not exactly a piece that can be played by three guys in a garage. If you ever heard it performed, you know what I mean. Tchaikovsky's overture didn't commemorate our War of 1812. It was to remember the Russian defense against Napoleon's invasion that same year. It was a great 4th of July weekend this year. Hope you are all safe and "God bless America." 73, Ron, K5HM <mailto:k5hm....@gmail.com> k5hm....@gmail.com <http://www.qrz.com/db/k5hm> www.qrz.com/db/k5hm Excelsior!
_______________________________________________ BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
