Happy 250th Birthday!

by Trish · July 4, 2026

Jeff shows off our patriotic flag display. Yes, I know, the big flag only has 48 stars. It belonged to Jeff’s dad, and maybe even his dad before that. It always flew at the family summer get-togethers.

Happy birthday to us!

Happy birthday to Uu-uss!

Happy birthday to us!

We made it to 250 years! And they said we wouldn’t last. Hah! Showed you, Olde World naysayers.

Now to get through the next 250 years.

I remember the celebrations for the 200th birthday celebrations. The sight of the tall ships gliding through the waters of New York harbor stirred great feelings of pride and achievement. I had just completed my first year of college and hadn’t yet made any achievements of my own, but I claimed all of America’s that day. I was part of something special. And everyone was welcomed. We linked arms literally and figuratively and rejoiced in our ideals. E pluribus unum was palpable that day.

I still am part of something special, as are all of us, but the celebration seems off this year. It’s like a party where your mom says you have to invite the neighborhood Eddie Haskell from down the street.

“Aw, Ma, do I have to?”

“Yes,” she says with that do-not-argue-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you tone of hers.

But you argue anyway.

“Nobody likes him,” you whine. “He pulls my hair, he kicked Tommy in the stomach the other day and he smells funny.”

“He’s a neighbor, and he can’t help that his parents are good-for-nothings,” she counters. “How will he learn to behave if he’s not around decent people?”

Then, Thanksgiving rolls around and you see Ma has invited spinster Aunt Gert and that one relative who makes Cousin Eddie look suave and sophisticated.

“But all you do is fight over politics and family history,” you dare to say.

“You can’t pick your family,” she sighs. “Besides, one of these days I will win the argument.”

So, we avoid them the rest of the time like the plague, but it’s party time, so we put on our best smiles and serve them the traditional foods on the good china.

Because they are family and neighbors.

Admittedly, the road to freedom has never been smooth. I often think our history can best summarized with the great Bette Davis line from All about Eve: “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” But we persevere. When the going gets tough, we always remember who we are, and who we do not want to be. I believe we are still those people.

Last year, Jeff and I spent the Fourth of July at our nation’s Capital. We sat on the steps of the National Archives and listened to period actors recite the Declaration of Independence. If that doesn’t stir your red-white-and-blue blood, I don’t know what will. I highly recommend this experience to everyone.

Some people will spend the Fourth at barbeques or watching sports or at the beach, with or without family and friends (the ones they like and the ones they don’t). Jeff? I think he will spend it in his man cave, watching soccer, playing FreeCell, and listening to music. Me? My flags are already out. I will watch the movie 1776 (Vote yes! Sit down, John!), Yankee Doodle Dandy (it’s not the Fourth of July in my mind until James Cagney tap dances down the steps in the White House), and maybe a few episodes of World War II in Color (I mean, why not?). Maybe I will put on a little John Philip Sousa music first thing in the morning. Then, I’ll pull out my copy of the Declaration for one more perusal.

No fireworks for us, though. That’s past our bedtime.