Meditations on the Fourth

Charles Mingus in a July 4 frame of mind - This is an album cover from from the Mingus Three (with Hampton Hawes and Dannie Richmond), and for some reason it always reminds me of the holiday. Great photo, and good listening, too. And it was recorded in America.

-----

I always did love July 4. It's a lively holiday, one where you can pretty much set your own agenda. You don't need to buy a bunch of stuff for random people; there's no need to impress anybody. It's your holiday, your way.

But if you're a freedom-loving type like myself, there's even more to like about July 4. That's when you reflect some. Even if things start looking ugly in the USA and the nation's priorities seem bass-ackward, America is still the best place going. Even though our leaders are so busy apologizing about it (and trying to emulate nations in western Europe), we're still the world's only superpower.

The fact I'm able to write the above paragraph and disseminate it on the Internet is proof positive of this statement. Too many other nations and governments would take exception to my look, my opinions, my belief system -- and I'm not always smart enough to avoid trouble that way.

Living here in America is worth celebrating, and I'm gonna do it. Some samples of how it's done:

FIREWORKS: There are still a couple of fireworks manufacturing plants in Rialto, Calif, but the only pyrotechnics I've ever seen from there were purely accidental and involved several fire departments. Here's a rule of thumb: If it lights up and makes loud noises, it's probably from China.

HOT DOGS: Amarican-made, or -grown. I think. I'm not sure where these meat by-products, cattle lips, possum tails, or pork ears come from. You can call it a local prouct, but they're assembled in some plant somewhere by foreign (read: undocumented) labor. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

FLY THE FLAG: I forget where they came from. Sri Lanka? Malaysia? Bangladesh? I don't think there's a textile industry in the United States any more.

FOURTH OF JULY ATTIRE: I do have a T-shirt that sports the stern visage of a bald eagle over a field of red, white, and blue. As if there's any question, the logo reads "Proud To Be An American." It's made in ... Honduras.

THE OUTDOOR GRILL: Made with pride in China. Next question ...

BASEBALL: Good time to check out the Atlanta Braves, also known as America's Team. If you look real hard at the roster, you might find some guys who are from around here. A few, anyway. Catcher Bruce McCann, pitchers Tim Hudson and Blaine Boyer, and outfielder Jeff Franconeur hail from Georgia, while infielders Chipper Jones and Casey Kotchman are Florida natives. A number of foreign countries were represented on their 40-man spring training roster: Panama, Cuba, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Australia, Dominican Republic, England, Venezuela, and California.

Maybe GO FOR A DRIVE? Sure ... even if your car is made by one of the Once-Big Three, it's anyone's guesss where it was actually manufactured. Or assembled. Or where the parts came from. Same thing if it's a foreign brand. Toyotas were being assembled in Princeton, Indiana. Greer, South Carolina is home of BMW.

TAKING PICTURES OF THE WHOLE AFFAIR: If you're using a real camera (the kind that takes film), it's from Japan,unless you're rich and have a German-made Hasselblad. If you're taking your pictures with a digital camera, you're wasting my time by asking about that.

I will celebrate at least part of the Fourth on my front stoop with a Cuban cigar. What can be more American than that?