Happy Fourth of July, 2007 Everyone. In the photo, here are Halley, Hannah, and Preston. Three really terrific young people I met on my inaugural July 4th ride; i.e. the first time I can recall riding on the 4th instead of going to a boring party.
I went with my good friend Tory Oakland. She's tough. She's fast. Even though I am recovering from a back injury she takes no quarters and wears me out at about mile 38.
Now about these great Americans you see here. What you don't see is that they are cousins. I wish I'd hung out with my cousins more growing up. I hope my son John (coming Sept. 15, 2007) does. He has some great cousins waiting for him on both sides. Make sure your children spend time with their cousins. Family is important. Friends come and go, but family is always there until it's too late. Think about that.
In the background of this photo is an awesome mother holding attention of the other half of the dog you see on the left. I believe she's Preston's mom; maybe not. Either way, good for her and their Dad (who built the lemonade stand). They said that "Dad insisted on building the stand" or something to that effect, but I know what lesson he is teaching. A job worth doing is a job worth doing right. I agree. You can't just set up a card table, sell lemonade and call it a "stand." If you are going to have a Lemonade Stand then build it. I hope for the same tenacity as my children age. Teaching your children values is the number one task of parents.
With the rain, they may have not had the number of customers they should have, but it was a success. They reminded me to have faith in the younger generation. There are great parents out their teaching young citizens how to be model Americans. Teaching them the value of hard work for low pay. I don't know where I can even buy a soda for 50 cents, but Tory and I got 2 lemonades for 2 quarters. Now that's hard work.
What can I tell you? After a few fireworks, I tend to ramble! Nonetheless, I say that instead of tolerance, teach respect. Instead of political correctness, teach determination. In place of bigotry, teach patriotism. These young citizens have renewed my faith in our country's future, hopefully they can renew yours.
