Marilyn's Musings

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I am starting my musing for this week early.  It is Thursday, June 23 and the last day of school in our little town of Dumont.  We live right by a grammar school; in fact, the school field is partially behind our house.  Right after lunch I went outside to catch up on some weeding and it was nice, quiet and peaceful.  A half hour later was dismissal time for the school. Well….the kids all came outside and stood in a group and sang a song with their teachers for the last time and were dismissed.  I heard them singing and then……the laughter and screams and running around started.  There were a few little guys kicking a ball around right behind my fence and laughing and having fun.  A little farther away there were about 10 kids by a large evergreen, and a few were starting to climb onto the lower branches.  I just watched and smiled.  There was a girl with a long ponytail climbing onto the branches and she reminded me of myself at that age.  I loved climbing trees!  I would sit on the highest branch I could reach and never even thought of falling.  I envy the sense of freedom these kids are feeling today.  They have no worries, no homework, and no time schedule -- just hours of freedom, and time to play ahead of them for a couple of months.  Think about not having to worry about being anyplace at a certain time, no daily chores such as laundry or dishes or cleaning.  What would you do with your time?  Would you enjoy peace and quiet?  Or do you wish you were young again and could just run around when you felt like it?    While I was weeding I realized something.  Deer do not like weeds!!! I know I have talked about the deer eating my hosta.  Somehow it is all the same height – very low to the ground after they have had their meal, but I noticed something.  Some of them had taller parts that the deer “left” and didn’t eat. When I got closer the taller parts were very tall weeds!  Now, why don’t deer like weeds?  I wonder?  I could see them not eating the weeds when they are low to the ground but the others that grow fast and tall (about 5-6”) – why not eat them???  How do they know they don’t like them if they don’t try them?  Hmmm...  After enjoying a nice, quiet weekend I am back to “muse” some more. It was our first weekend with the camper at home, so we aren’t doing too much; just a nice relaxing time.  As I am writing this I realize the next time I will be “musing” will be on July 4th which is next Monday. As I am sure many of you will be busy, maybe BBQ-ing with family and friends or maybe away on vacation, I decided to check out some information about July 4th and share it with you this week. Here is a summary of what I found:  Americans come together on July 4 to celebrate the nation’s birthday and Independence Day. On this day, most Americans enjoy grilling in their backyards, at beaches, or in parks. There are parades and marches and fireworks that are done at the end of the day.  Here is a little history –“On July 2, 1776, in a virtually unanimous vote, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence, and on July 4th, it formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Ultimately, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence was a contentious process. After much debate over what to include and what to leave out, Thomas Jefferson, tasked with pulling the document together, envisioned a nation where “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” crystallized the very meaning of being an American. The document proclaimed the 13 American colonies’ liberation from Britain and reaffirmed their rights as free men — declaring that they were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that July 4th would be celebrated by generations to come as the great anniversary festival and would include Pomp and Parade, Games, Sports, Bonfires and Illuminations from one end of the continent to the other.”  The hymn I chose for this week is “America, the Beautiful”.  As I have mentioned in the past, I wish we could sing Patriotic Hymns more often. This one was written by Katherine Bates when at the age of 33 in 1893, she was an English professor at Wellesley College, and had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and  found their way into a poem (which later was put to music), including the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the "White City" with its promise of the future contained within its gleaming white buildings; the wheat fields of America's heartland in Kansas, through which her train was riding on July 16; and the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Pikes Peak.  On the top of that mountain, the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room. The poem was published two years later in The Congregationalist to celebrate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public's ”fancy”.  In our hymnal at Old North, titled "The Worshiping Church”, this hymn is listed under the heading, “God In Society – National Life”.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.  Enjoy the summer weather and sunshine.  As the celebrations start next weekend for July 4th, join me in singing….  “America, the Beautiful”  https://youtu.be/WWJF1yE3Y1E