Hey folks!
Happy 4th of July! I hope you’re set for a great day over there. I’ve got some tasty morsels for ya.
Need a 4th of July Classic to read?
I just finished Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in audiobook form. To hear the way he utterly invalidates the king is worth the effort alone.
Need another book?
I’m stoked to announce that my first effort, The Captain’s Logbook, is officially on sale today! You can get it on Amazon, but I’d much rather send you one personally. Drop me an email (JoshUrban@Protonmail.com), and we’ll get ya set. And, if we know each other well, there’s probably one heading your way anyway.
And now…for the weekly tradition, it’s:
Letters from Josh
The Fourth of July Letter 89 7/05/22
Howdy, folks! A happy Fourth of July week to you! I’m snapping my American Flag suspenders in friendly greeting as we observe the 246th birthday of our country. How do you like to celebrate? Any fireworks fans out there? Have you ever seen them in the rain? The water pushes the smoke earthwards so you can smell (and even taste) the gunpowder. The sparks fall like liquid fire, and the warm summer rain blesses your skin. “BOOM! BOOM!” Thuds that rattle the spleen - flashes of artificial lightning split the night. And all around you, a crowd of your friends and neighbors, ordinary people in awe, too. 246 years ago, Thomas Jefferson was only 33 years old. He wrote a key document of history - the Declaration of Independence - and we all know how that went. It seems fitting to commemorate with a bang.
I watched the fireworks last night (in calm, dry weather), I got to thinking….Would I have signed the document? Britain would have considered me a traitor. I’d be risking everything. And after all, what does a “little” thing, an “impossible” thing ever do? Well, sometimes it leads to a new nation, a new mindset. Even the mighty oak springs from a tiny acorn. If we only knew how far our actions could reach, eh?
On a less serious note: any berry pickers out there? I went prowling for blackberries this weekend. I didn’t have to go far - the farm had plenty of lush patches. It was raining, I was on the ATV (dirt bike crossed with a go kart), and had so much fun. An occasional mosquito tried to get a bite of me, and I even found some tiny mountain blueberries way back towards the hollow. Thing is: blackberries are rather tart ‘round here. Who’s got a good recipe to make ‘em taste better, or a good story about picking berries? Drop me a note! PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588.
And now, folks, I must be off to help put the tractor back together. We’ve taken the big wheels off, and are changing the brakes.
There’s grease everywhere, parts scattered across the shop, and diesel smoke in the air. I’ve got overalls, too. I’m delighted. You might even think…I was from around here, and not a former city boy…Uhh…uhh…”I reckon.” Seems a fitting way to celebrate. Happy 4th of July….y’all! - Josh
(Entertaining the crew in Old Town Alexandria this weekend.)