Americans are richly blessed to live in a nation founded on freedom and the right to worship. The older I get (and it’s coming too fast), the more grateful I become for the country I call home. I’ve traveled a lot of the world and even lived abroad for a while, and although each of those experiences was wonderful, they convinced me that we live in the greatest nation on earth.
Over the past seven years, Helen and I have visited every state in the Lower 48. We have marveled at America’s staggering beauty, the homespun friendliness of the small towns, the abundance of our natural resources, and the treasure and joy found in our National and state parks. We hiked a lot of trails, ate some fabulous food, and took a lot of pictures.
Six years ago, I made a short video using some of the pictures from our early trips. To accompany the pictures, I added Kate Smith’s stirring rendition of God Bless America, which always revs up the patriotic juices of this old soldier and fills me with pride. I wanted to share it again, and I hope you enjoy it.
Happy 247th Birthday, America! We’re still filled with pride, we’re still strong, and we’re still Easin’ Along!
Good morning,
Lucky you.
Good morning, Kathryn!
We’re blessed in many ways, and grateful for every one. Have a great Fourth! Joe
Good morning Joe and Happy 4th to you and Helen!
Also, your post for today was in one word “awesome” especially when it was topped off by Kate Smith! What an American icon! Happy #247 to America well and I pray that God will continue to bless and protect our beautiful country; we need his help now more than ever! Safe travels! Ron
Hi, Ron!
Long time, but thanks for checking in. We have a lot of issues in America, but I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Have a wonderful Fourth! Joe
Happy 4th Joe and Helen. Nothing like Kate Smith to make your heart turn over. We are SO blessed!
Hi, Ann,
She will fire up the patriotic juices for sure. Hope your Fourth was a fun one! Take care! Joe
Joe, traveling definitely has given us a great appreciation for how beautiful our country is, “from sea to shining sea.” Let’s hope that we can all find common ground in these challenging times and work for the greater good of all. Happy Fourth of July to you and Helen!
Good morning, Laurel,
You’re so right about the rewards of traveling America. Just think about what we would have missed if we only traveled by airplane…Hope y’all had a Happy Fourth in the new neighborhood. Please stay in touch! Joe P.S. We may be grounded–Dora has a bent axle. Ouch!
Hi, Joe and Helen – You have done much incredible travel over the past 8 years. Happy 247th Birthday, America. This post is a wonderful tribute to celebrate that!
Donna,
Thanks for the nice comments. Both our countries are richly blessed with amazing beauty and wonderful, patriotic people–something to celebrate indeed! Always great to hear from you! Joe
How wonderful, Joe! Happy Independence Day to you and your entire family!
Good morning, Terri,
Hope your Fourth was a good one! We had fireworks going off all around us until late in the night–a bit noisy but fun nonetheless. I tried to take our dog for a walk, but he would have nothing to do with it. One sky rocket and he headed straight back indoors. Stay cool up there, and thanks for stopping by. Joe
We had the same situation until midnight! We sat outside in our lawn chairs and watched the show from our backyard–in other words, watched a lot of illegal fireworks. Brodie did OK outside once he saw the actual fireworks lighting the sky. Thank goodness the illegal shows were over and no one shot any more the next night. I have a picture for the blog this Sunday!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi, Debbie,
Great to hear from you! I had a lot of fun putting this together and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Hope all is well with you and Rick. Hope the fish are biting as well. Please stay in touch. Joe
Excellent post Joe Bruner!
Hi, Eddie,
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope your Fourth was a good one! Give Wilma our best! Joe