Wishing everyone, including this blog's fantastic followers, a very Happy Fourth of July 2012 as we celebrate America's 236th birthday today.
We have so many reasons to give thanks and be proud of our country's past and current contributions to the world. Today, let's not forget to pause and honor those who have gone before us who rest in peace in city cemeteries and rural burying grounds across America.
To help us toward that goal, I've chosen to spotlight a link to Find A Grave's "Success Stories".
This is where people express their gratitude to strangers. To strangers who have become contributors who generously share their knowledge so others can connect to their past by learning more about the lives of their deceased relatives and ancestors.
Making these connections have enriched many people's lives, who, in turn, will be able to pass that history down to younger generations through story telling and from activities like painstakingly transcribing ancestral information found in personal old diaries and heavy family bibles.
Yes those old books we walk past that silently sit on shelves in homes, libraries, and museums. If they could, they would beg us to pick them up and look at their pages hidden inside their hardbound dust laden covers before they crumble under the weight of time. What we can learn from them is almost limitless.
Thus, Americans have much reason to celebrate and many blessings to be thankful for on this Fourth Of July 2012. As we reflect on American history, let's remember not only the 'how and why' but also most importantly, the 'who' -- the people who blazed the unpaved pioneering trails of times long past. For without them, we could not fully appreciate our American heritage today.
Thus, Americans have much reason to celebrate and many blessings to be thankful for on this Fourth Of July 2012. As we reflect on American history, let's remember not only the 'how and why' but also most importantly, the 'who' -- the people who blazed the unpaved pioneering trails of times long past. For without them, we could not fully appreciate our American heritage today.
