Happy Independence Day!!

[brian]

I hope you all have a fantastic (and safe) weekend!

[lswot]

Back atcha, Brian.......

Everyone have a safe and sane!!!! Fly your FLAG and go to a public Fireworks show!!!!!

[trucker2000]

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men

who signed the Declaration of Independence ?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,

and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;

another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or

hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,

and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants,

nine were farmers and large plantation owners;

men of means, well educated,

but they signed the Declaration of Independence

knowing full well that the penalty would be death if

they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and

trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the

British Navy. He sold his home and properties to

pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British

that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.

He served in the Congress without pay, and his family

was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,

and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,

Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that

the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson

home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General

George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed,

and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.

The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.

Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill

were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests

and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his

children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and

silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many

people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that patriotism

is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer,

picnics, and baseball games.

You all have a safe and sane one too. ( Ok, as sane as you can )

[Xjmt]

I didn't know all of that. Thanks.

[lswot]

Thanks, Truck......people forget the sacrifices made by these men who signed the Declaration. It's not just a piece of paper........

[Donahoo]

Better late than never.

[lswot]

But of course!

[trucker2000]

Hope everyone still has all their fingers and eye brows.

[lswot]

No fireworks here.......at least of the booming kind. Actually, it was pretty quiet. Guess people around here are finally realizing that the darn things are banned, here. Surprised I didn't hear the ones at the stadium.....or down on the beach, though.

[Donahoo]

We had a few fireworks here but not very many. My scaredy cat slept through it.

[Henry J]

"Must go faster! Must go faster!"

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

"Elvis has LEFT the building!"

Oops, wrong thread.

Henry

[lswot]

You nut.......

[Henry J]

I resemble that remark!

[lswot]

Yes you do.

[Henry J]