Longstreet, Remembering Gettysburg

General [Wishbone] Longstreet

Gazing pensively toward the horizon,

Remembering that day - 

July 3, 1863

When he told General Lee, as they stood on Seminary Ridge

at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,

Facing an impossible situation,

'It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position! '

and even now,

as he rests in history,

we hear him quietly whisper,

'Told you so.
Just sayin' '

James Longstreet c.1867
National Archives

Next year in Gettysburg!

Little Clown - and Fourth of July

Lost

When our younger daughter, now married and mother of Henry, was probably five years old, she wanted to dress up like a clown. We found the  brightly-colored wrap and the red, floppy hat. Then I painted her face. When we had completed the costume, she wanted to see herself in the mirror.

As you can see from the photo above, once she saw her reflection, she was not happy, but became worried that she had been completely transformed and wouldn't be able to get back to her normal self. It was a sad and sweet moment when we saw that look on her face. This was not a happy clown.

You'll be happy to know that she did find her former self, grew up, got married, and gave birth to her own child, who will probably never be dressed as a clown.

The Little Fam Today

***

Changing the subject, do you have big plans for the Fourth? With the devastating wildfires out west leaving hundreds homeless and the huge storms in the East leaving many without power for days,  I'm thinking that this Independence Day may be a sombre occasion for many. With the hot, dry weather conditions, some communities are canceling fireworks altogether.

Kevin and I plan to have a picnic and go with friends to a small, local fireworks display (unless it's canceled). Kevin always makes a huge brown paper bagful of popcorn for the event, and we usually take strawberry Twizzlers and bottled water. When we still drove the Big Blue Truck, we would put our lawn chairs in the back of the truck and sit up there to watch the fireworks. Yes, it's very redneck and it was lots of fun! I don't know if the kids ever watched the fireworks, but they definitely kept their eyes on the dwindling Twizzler supply.

Unlike Big City fireworks displays, the fireworks in our small town are mostly shot off one at a time until toward the end when they extravagantly set off several in quick succession, usually ending with the U.S. flag emblazoned and sputtering against the black sky.

Then we drive home and try to get our terrified dogs on lead so they can go outdoors to do their business  between loud bangs, sizzles, and pops of neighborhood fireworks.

Poor dogs. They hate freedom and independence.

***

Mandarin Orange Spice

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