This has to be the strangest 4th of July I've ever experienced. The fourth has always been a big family celebration in the past , but sadly this will apparently be the first year that we won't be doing a big family barbeque feast. Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen some time. You don't go through almost 44 years without missing a holiday somewhere. I have decided to use this day as a work day and then this evening we will do something celebratory. The kids want to do fireworks, however this requires no effort on my part, because if last year was anything to go by, there will be fireworks out the wazoo here in the redneck ghetto. Just grab a brew, sit on the front porch and and wait for the "blastage" to begin. It isn't comparable with say, New York City, but what can you do? I'm not really going to get into the fireworks thing myself this year, because after we blasted a neighbor's house when box launcher misfired, it was just more "fun" than I needed. Nope - gonna pass on that one. So, we'll be here at the Van Goat Ranch, working, playing and enjoying the beautiful day that God gave us.