Happy 7/4

[Mobuck]

I'm off to a good start. Repaired my first airplane tire this morning. Not nearly as difficult as expected or reported to be. Even repainted the rim and waiting for that to dry while having another cup of coffee. One would think that this heat would reduce the coffee input but doesn't seem to make much diff.

 

[kentucky yeti]

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Take just a moment to think what this day was set aside for.

 

[ex13F]

 

[Armybrat]

 

[protoolman]

What's the story, did you buy an airplane?

 

[kentucky yeti]

What's the story, did you buy an airplane?

Lots of farm implements use airplane or flotation tires.

 

[GunnyGene]

We hear about some of the famous signers of the Declaration of Independence after the war but we don't think about what others who signed it gave up for this country.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

• Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
• Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.
• Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
• Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.
• Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
• They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
• What kind of men were they?
• Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
• Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
• Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
• Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
• At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
• Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
• John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
• Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
• Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.
• Standing talk straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
• They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
• Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never free!
• It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

 

[Danjet500]

 

[ned]

I rode all around my neighborhood and only saw one other flag, besides mine. Granted a very leftist neighborhood full of college professors. At least no one vandalized my house for my patriotism…yet.

 

[Mobuck]

My little community is having a constant battle with USPS over flag presentation. I was called a couple weeks back with a complaint about disrespectful handling of the flag. I went to the community PO and offered to show the current 'clerk' (Hispanic female) who is assigned the 3 hours per day office time how to properly present the flag. She claimed to be 'newly assigned' so I let her off with a bit of advice assuming she'd learn. Saturday evening at 9PM, I passed through town and noticed the flag hanging somewhere below half staff after dark w/o illumination. YES, on our country's 250th anniversary the flag was disrespected so I rescued it and brought it home. I called my rural mail carrier who is also upset over the flag problems and told him what I'd done and why. The flag is currently properly folded, placed inside a ziplock bag to keep it clean, and waiting in my mailbox for the carrier to pickup and return to the PO.
Since a bit of gentle advice wasn't adequate, I guess the next step is a butt chewing of this Lolita's supervisor and the next step is a Congressional inquiry (USPS hates having a Congressman asking questions).