"A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works."

-- Bill Vaughn

It's the Fourth of July. And it's a Sousa kind of day.  Bold, brash, loud, and ambitious.  A day to drive the streets playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" at full volume with the windows down.

The Fourth is the Fourth no matter what day of the week it falls on. This is not some designer holiday that can change its date to make a three day weekend.

Our Founding Fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th and we've not messed with history.  Well, there was 1779 when July 4th fell on a Sunday so someone decided it should be celebrated on July 5th, but we haven't made that mistake since.  We may have thought about it, but we haven't done it.  In the United States, every idea is on the table, even the bad ones.

It's a day of parades in sweltering heat in many parts of the country, cold watermelon feeds, picnics with good friends and family, and, finally, thankfully, fireworks.