4 July 2018

Well, here it the 4th day of July and not only is it the feast of St Ulric the bishop of Augsburg who was the first person ever canonized by a pope and Stephen Foster's birthday but it is also the 242d anniversary of the day the 2d Continental Congress formally adopted the declaration of  the 13 British colonies' independence from Great Britain.  We celebrate this every year with fireworks, small explosives, and assorted incendiary devices.  The later two are usually illegal but also ubiquitous.  Yes, it is once again scare-the-crap-out-of-your-household-pets day.

At the moment it is 5:31 and 58 seconds in the evening and the devotees of St Barbara, the patroness of artillerymen, have started in blasting already.

Happy 4th of July.