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There is something I get to do on the Fourth of July that is even more fun than all the Ballpark Franks that will be ritually sacrificed to charcoal flames in our nation's parks and beaches and backyards. More fun than the bottle rockets that will set fire to many of our nation's finest picnic table umbrellas and halter tops. Even more fun than all the beer that will anesthetize the sunburned bellies of our nation's countless middle-aged revelers.
For about an hour on the Fourth of July I get to "be" Woody Guthrie at our local library's "We The People" program. This is a celebration of some of the great patriots in American history, of the words and ideas they used to change the world forever. I get to sit with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. I'll sing about riding my pony in the Oklahoma hills, and I'll sing about how this land was made for you and me.
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Friday, June 20 was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. To farmers, this represents the midpoint of the growing season, half way between planting and the harvest. To Catholics it means that the solemn Feast of Saint John The Baptist is just a few days away.
And of course, for all you druids out there, it's Party Time!
This year more than 28,000 people showed up at Stonehenge to stand watch until 4:48 AM, when the first rays of the morning sun would emerge in perfect alignment with the giant stone astronomical "computer," as they have on the sacred site for nearly 6,000 years. Of course, this "first rays of the sun" thing was purely theoretical, since the last cloudless morning in England is rumored to have occurred in 1089 AD, during the reign of William II (also known as Rufus the Red).
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"Wow, some storm out there," says Dad, standing by the window and staring at the dark night sky.
Little Suzie looks up from her pink "My Little Pony" laptop computer "The National Weather Service data shows a strong occluded front moving in, and it's generating a major thermal inversion."
"Nya nya nya inversion," chants Todd Jr., aiming a kick at his younger sister's computer and narrowly missing as she pulls it out of harm's way. "It's more like the wind is going to blow the whole world into outer space."
"Yeah, that's exactly what it's like," says Little Suzie.
"It's a perfect night to stay inside and watch Idol," says Mom.
At that moment the lights go out.
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