..gets many mentions, posts, threads and a whole lot more around here.
The fourth of July seems to have passed unnoticed.
I thought that was a bit ..strange..so to speak.
Slan,
D. 
No one wants to play âYankee Doodle Dandyâ, perhaps?
It kind of passed unnoticed here at Casa IzzâŚwe had rain all day. 
So, no cookout, no fireworks, nada. Kind of stinks because I love fireworks 
We gathered at my sisterâs on the 3rd, and ambled down to the end of the street to watch the parade with the little nephews the next morning. But no big doings for us.
Fatherâs day went by without a thread.
Thought it was a bit strange that one of the TV stations (I think) was playing âThe Battle Hymn of the Republicâ to introduce the forth of July marathon.
We had our usual world-class fireworks display. They were spectacular, although lacking in the stupendous drama of the year they all exploded prematurely. 
I saw the title of this thread and thought Iâd gone into some kinda time warp or completely lost it, or a combination of the two.
I played the big old bass drum and suspended cymbal for all the sousa marches, etc. at our orchestraâs final concert of the spring season. That was fun cause I get to just bang away on the thing with NO stress. 
And this year I didnât boom it partially out of itâs stand personally made sure the thing was all tightened down.
Then we all stayed around awhile and enjoyed a couple of the bands that were playing - one old time,( the grandyounginâ and I just had to get up and dance to that), and a bluegrass group out of Kentucky that was good. Bands were playing all day but the Lil got worn out so we rested up then went back to town last night for the fireworks.
It was a good day.
My wife and I got engaged on the 4th of July. Itâs an easy day to remember and we never have to plan anything.
Well, you know he did that on purpose 
Heâs so weird.
I kind of miss playing all the Sousa stuff. I loved to play âStars and Stripes Foreverâ on my flute. I doubt Iâd even remember how to do it now! But I donât miss marching in those wool uniforms from the 1950âs, complete with those huge band hatsâŚdo you know what Iâm talking about? Like the guard in London wear? Yeah, those. We wore that stuff in July. Until I quit flute, and had to wear a cheerleader uniform to carry the flag. A little plaid skirt with a sweater. That was actually worse
Oh the things that pop into my head at random timesâŚ
In London there was a big Gay Pride march on July 4th.
Maybe someone was trying to send a message to someone. I donât know. I wasnât there.
The Rebellion Brewery in Marlow had an Open Day. In fact it had two, and Sunday was an Open Day too. They had free beer. You made a contribution to charity for your pint (plastic) glass, and all the beer was free. FREE BEER!
Iâd only tasted Rebellion Red and Rebellion Blonde before. Neither of them are good advertisements for the brewery. However, their Mild is excellent, as is their IPA, their Mutiny and their Investorsâ Revenge (a new beer this year. Wonder how they came up with that name).
Marlow Acoustic was doing the afternoon music. (Django Django was doing the morning.)
May the fourth be Djuly with you. 
The vision of you in a little plaid skirt with a sweater is liable to pop into my head at random times now. MmmmmâŚ
Just so you know, it was an UGLY plaid skirt. I never would have picked it outâŚthe band was not known for itâs fashion sense
Looking up traditional tunes of the American Revolution, I came across three versions of âSoldiers Joyâ.
http://www.kitchenmusician.net/pages/kmmusicalpha.html#sj4flats
Worth a laugh along with âOver the Waterfallâ
Why would that be strange? The abolitionist connection?
I find the constant July 4 use of âThe 1812 Overtureâ a bit
odd. What does a Russian composition about a battle with
the French have to do with the birth of the USA? (Except
for the cannon booms underscoring the fireworks, I guess.)
We took a picnic lunch out to one of the local lakes on the 4th. I waded in the lake, my husband and daughter paddled around in an inlatable boat, my MIL sat in the shade and watched us. It was hot so it only took about 20 minutes for me to get in the water up to my waist! And my MIL only required 2 layers of clothing in the 90 degree weather. Afterwards we took our daughter back into town since she had to work, then my husband and MIL and I went shopping at a thrift store, where she bought presents for her great-grandkids. Had supper at home then went down to Riverfront Park and got our eardrums blasted out by the Spokane Jazz Orchestra who had the volume turned up to rock band level. Then fireworks, then met our daughter and went home.
On Sunday we drove to Grand Coulee Dam in the afternoon, took the tour, which would have been more interesting if we could have gone into the powerhouse, but the elevator is broken. Ate, looked around the visitor center for a few hours until the laser show at 10pm, drove home, and got in about 12:30.
Today my husband and daughter have to work, I have my regular day off so I get to put away all the stuff we used over the last couple of days.
My orchestra did our (pretty much) usual outdoor pre-fireworks concert. The best part was listening to our principal trumpet play the soft passages on âLincoln Portrait.â His playing is always inspiring but itâs amazing the way really fine players can sometimes find a level you barely knew existed. The worst part was the annual sop to the strings of playing âStars and Stripesâ in D/G; the original is in Eb/Ab. We donât ask them to take the Borodin 2nd down a half step so itâs in a better key for us. The oddest thing is playing the â1812 Overtureâ every year on the Fourth of July. Sure, itâs loud, but the French were our allies during the Revolution. It seems a bit tacky to play a piece that celebrates them getting their butts kicked. 
Well, it was written long after the Revolutionary war (1858 hymn âMy Brother Will You Meet Meâ). The tune (in any song form) has nothing to do with independence or really the nation. Becoming âJohn Brownâs Bodyâ it was a Union marching song* (later becoming the âBattle Hymn of the Republicâ) during a time that the united states was fighting itself. It just seemed to me to be an unconnected odd choice for a tune more attached to a different time period. I would find it equally odd if âTramp, Tramp, Trampâ was being played.
*Some southerners still seem to have an issue with the song.
Hm. Good point. I suppose a case could be made
that preserving the Union could be lumped in with
creating it, celebration-wise. But I suppose it is a
bit of an anacronysm.
Strangely patriotic⌠a guy playing âThe Star Spangled
Bannerâ on an electric violin made from a baseball bat:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/baseball_bat_banner.html