As I am writing this, it is the 4th of July, and not just any 4th - this marks 250 years (a quarter of a millennium) that the United States has existed as a nation. I still remember the bicentennial back in 1976 - I was 6 years old then, and on the verge of starting my 1st-grade school year then. Hard to believe it has been 50 years since all that! Of course, the 4th is all about celebrating what it means to be American, and there are indeed things we can be thankful for. However, in the past few decades, I haven't felt as patriotic as I used to - not that I hate my country or anything, but I don't like the direction it seems to be taking. Unlike 1976, when a lot more patriotism was evident, 2026 is a time when our nation has deep divisions, and to be honest, I don't think at the rate we are going that we may last another 50 years. That sounds morbid, I know, but the USA is not ancient China or imperial Rome - we are relative new kids on the block compared with many ancient civilizations. We are not the nation we were in 1776, or even 1976 - this is a different world. For better or worse, that is the fact.
Added to this is the fact that it was about 102 degrees out today, so it was too hot to move so we spent most of the day inside watching TV. We did, however, have a decent dinner - luckily there was a good barbecue place called Libby's here in town that serves a decent brisket (I still like Mission BBQ's and Sonny's better, but it was not bad). Besides Independence Day, there are things to discuss as well about what is going on in life, so let me get into that a bit.
I am finally in the last stages of finishing up my Genesis text, and it will be out for printing this week coming as all I need to do is italicize some Greek and Hebrew terms and then assemble the bibliography and get the proper page numbers for the table of contents. Once I do that, I can upload it and get it published. My next project after this is the cookbook I want to publish, and by month's end it should be ready as well. In the meantime also, I have some work to look for, and I also have a few other projects to work on too.
Due to a summer storm outside, I am going to be short with today's thoughts, but I will be back again in the near future, See you next visit!
