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Show JOST STUFF k? BY JfiN The Fourth of July has passed for another year. The parade has wound its way down main street. The oompah-pah of the band and the early morning cannonade echo no more. Most of the floats have been transformed back into hay wagons and trailers. The Lions' Club purple funny car has been garaged and the riding club horses are all back in their pastures. The booths have vanished from the park and the last firework has flickered from the sky. Even the flags have been tucked away until Pioneer Day. While July 4th has been marked off the calendar, the Fourth of July is never really gone. We all carry a bit of the Fourth with us every day. It's there when we go to church and worship as we please, or when we make a comment about an elected official. It's there when we go to the polls and cast our vote, or when we open the newspaper or turn on the 6:00 news. There's a little bit of the fourth when we complain about our taxes at least we can complain. It's the Fourth of July as we sit outside on a cool evening and chat with the neighbor across the fence, or when we tuck little Johnny into bed without worrying that Big Brother may be watching. There's a pinch of the Fourth in every small business in the country from Wallstrect to the corner market just down the street; from the failing farms of the Midwest to the struggling stores right here on our valley. Yes, a bit of the Fourth of July is with us every day; too often, though, we forget. The many freedoms free-doms we enjoy, which we so often take for granted, were hard fought and long in coming. Blood shed, courage, dedication and foresight forged our independence so many years ago on that fourth of July. It's important that we remember the Fourth. Everyday. |