Happy Birthday America!

Life was pretty simple in the 50’s and early 60’s. We ate family meals every night and in the summer, the grill came out. Dad always made sure we understood that Italians grill and Americans barbeque. A distinction that meant little to me at the time. On the 4^th of July every year, the entire family met at Arcadia park for the family picnic. I had enough cousins that we could play our own baseball game, the aunts all prepared the side dishes.

My dad always made sure to barbeque, so that meant ribs slow cooked over coals, while the other men prepared fire for dogs, burgers and of course some Italian sausages.

I know this is a food blog, but after all, it is the 4^th of July! It would be easy to talk about food and the 4^th but today I am putting my attention to our fathers and grandfathers who made all those simple days possible. The men who fought in World War II to fight for our freedom. I’m sure they never envisioned the country we are today but if they did,

it was mentioned as little as the war they fought. My dad only had a few stories from his time in the Pacific with the Marines, mostly funny stories with happy endings. Only one night, did he actually talk about a few of his experiences. I don’t remember ever being so taken by the words of a man of few words.

Today instead of talking about the bounty we are so blessed to choose from each day,

I would like to give honor to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom and our God who has blessed our country. God Bless America and today I celebrate sharing this land with each of you. Tomorrow we can talk about just how much we ate today!