Celebrating the 4th of July: Our 235th Independence Day.

During the spring and summer of 1776, a group of men sat in a 90+ degree room, with all of the windows closed and shades drawn tight, committing treason against the British crown.  They could have been hung for such treacherous acts.  There was no air conditioning, nor calling for food delivery.  They could not send text messages or emails to one another.  It was an act of treason that I am very thankful for, because on the 4^th of July, 1776, our Declaration of Independence was signed, and read to the public for the first time.

Being the daughter of two ardent patriots, I am a very patriotic person.  My dad, Thomas John Wiseman, served in the United States Army in Vietnam.  His father, Fred Wiseman, served in the Army in World War II.  My mother, Betty (Wilson) Wiseman, played percussion in her Charlotte, Michigan, High School Band, and raised me listening to John Philip Sousa as if it were “modern rock”.  Thanks to her, I also have a passion for music (and still play the flute, piccolo, and oboe… and a little bagpipe).  I still cry when I hear the “National Anthem” and the “Stars and Stripes Forever (and still have the piccolo solo memorized).

This 4^th of July, I would like to thank all past, present, and future service men and women, serving not only in our Armed Forces, but also in emergency personnel such as fire fighters, police, medical personnel.  With the sacrifice of time, and the lives lost in the fight, our Freedom to celebrate would not exist. 

Thank-you to all of us who fly American Flags year-round.  The Red, White, and Blue have no season—but is sure is great to see so much of it on July 4^th.

Regardless of your belief in politics, we are a Nation, and a State, built on the Founding Father’s belief in God.  Thank- God we live in such a wonderful state like Michigan.