America

This weekend, like many of you, we celebrated Independence Day. Ours was sharing camp with my greater family; parents, siblings, nieces and nephews and even the generation beyond that.

Throwing tomahawks, shooting bows and shotguns, cobbler from a dutch oven, fireworks, fireside church, conversations around the fire, food, always more food. And fire, always fire, especially with the cooler weekend, definitely fire.

What draws us together? The fire, the food, the fireworks, the fun?

The celebration is great, but my soul often drifts back to this song;

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Brotherhood! That's it! Brotherhood!

Even in these times of division and differences, we long for brotherhood and unity! Today we gather around that fire, and share in the thought, " …….that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Here's to you as you paddle along the path!