Post 4th thoughts.

I live in Sunland-Tujunga, well Tujunga really but they refer to it as Sunland-Tujunga.  It's a "small town" tucked into the middle of Los Angeles.  We are part of the City of LA, yet seem to feel that we are not part of the City, if that makes any sense.  Every year, we have a Fourth of July parade, down the main drag, Foothill Blvd.  I never had the energy to drag my tail down there in the ten years I have lived here.  Until THIS parade.  A friend of mine was the Grand Marshall and some other friends were marching along as part of the McGroarty Arts Center group, so we went.  It was nice to see our friends and to cheer them on.  It was truly a small town parade.  Nothing screams  "Happy Independence Day" like a red white and blue goat.  I think to get into the parade you just had to pay the fee, as there were cars that looked like they thought they were going to the Von's and got stuck in the parade line.  I loved it when the biker group ( who probably weren't part of the parade to begin with) cut off the pro-life group.  "Colorful metaphors" erupted from BOTH sides.  Ah  good times.

As I am wont to do on the 4th, I thought about my early American ancestors, what they did and why.  I am descended from Jacob Myers, who was with Washington at Valley Forge ( allegedly in a "sick tent" but there nonetheless.)  We tend to make more of them than they were, people fighting for their livelihood.  Were they fighting for Truth Justice and the American Way?  Probably not.  They probably just wanted the British to go home and leave them to their farming or their business.  They were ordinary people, doing what needed to be done.  They were not pure saints and I suspect that the motives of those long ago patriot/politicians who started the whole thing were more economic than anything else.  I seem to remember there is a school of historical thought called "Economic Determinism"  which says that EVERYTHING that ever happened is a result of people trying to change their economic status or to defend their way of making a living.  It's more complicated than that, but that is what it boils down to ( I WAS sort of paying attention in Coach DeJohn's AP History class all those years ago) But, as I always say, the winner's write the history books.  There are two, possibly three sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in between.

On the 4th we also get to play my favorite game "Gunfire or M-80?"  Last night at around 11 o'clock, the game began again.  I hope the morons finished their stash of  fireworks and we can play again. NEXT YEAR.