A Cowboy Explains 4th of July

Modern Americans are hazy about our history. With the Fourth of July on the horizon, I thought a cowboy could bring clarity to the origins of this popular holiday.

Happy Independence Day

I hope everybody has a great day. One of my favorite July 4th celebrations was in 1976, the bicentennial. On a lark (or perhaps it was a inebriated neighborhood party), our street decided to enter a float in the bicentennial parade. We'd be competing against businesses and established organizations like the VFW and Shriners. The photo above shows my wife and son standing in front of our 1st Place float. (Hey, come on, it wasn't the Rose Parade.) Great memories. It drew the neighborhood together and we had a rowdy celebration with all the BBQ grills gathered in one back yard with kids running around everywhere.

If you want to read about an even older celebration, here is a description of the Independence Day gala in Philadelphia during the Constitutional Convention.  Before the snarky comments arrive, I wasn't actually at that celebration. At least, not physically. I did kinda visit when I wrote the piece.

Happy 4th of July. 

Eat, Drink, Read, and be Merry

We had a great 4^th of July with friends, hamburgers, and noodle salad. Breaking bread with friends is one of the pleasures in life. I think it goes back to campfires and caves, when you savored eating instead of being eaten.

Bookbar, Denver

Books can be friends, as well. That’s why I liked this Flavorwire article on “10 Literary Restaurants for Hungry Book Nerds Around the World.” I think I’ll put all 10 on my bucket list.

If you believe reading and food go together, you’ll enjoy Book Eats, a blog dedicated to food and books.