Independence

As I think about the past week, I find that it all leads to the coming week.  I suppose that means this week was spent in preparation.  I made curtains for the van, which should keep me cooler and provide some privacy for the contents of the van, besides that, they look kind of cool.  I picked up this fabric in a thrift store in Los Alamos.  I wasn't very excited about it since Lorraine and I had gone to Michael Levin's in downtown LA and gotten the perfect fabric and all the notions so that I could sew them while I was house sitting in Santa Fe.  Losing new things in the fire had a particular sting, but I got the fabric because it wasn't terrible and the price was right.  Now I find that they look pretty cool and I can't even remember what the other fabric looked like, so I guess I'm moving on.

I have gotten a new copy of my licence, registration and all my bank cards.  I am still waiting on the title to the van and one insurance card, but they will come when they come.  All in all, I feel somewhat restored.  It will be some time before I can replace some things like my glasses and my laptop, but I can't say that I'm very concerned about it.  I have managed to get by without them for the past month and I expect that I'll get by for as long as I need to.  I do miss reading, but I have drugstore cheaters (as we call them) and the work well enough for the time being.  For the most part, I find my arms are long enough to get the point of focus I need to make things legible.

Tomorrow is Independence Day, the holiday that always makes me think of my father.  He used to wake us up with John Phillips Sousa's, Da da da nant da, da nant da da da nant (cymbal crash).  This is much easier to sing than to type...but I'm smiling.  It occurs to me that independence is a false concept.  Truly independent people are actually mutually dependent, as was our country in the beginning.  If not for the assistance of France, we would not have achieved independence from England.  This fact is little noted in all the rhetoric of the day and history, but it was certainly true.  Our Independence required assistance, and I have recent experience to confirm that my own independence is predicated on the love and support of family and friends across the country.   I suspect that this is true for all of us, and that though we believe ourselves to be self-reliant, and more or less self-supporting, the truth is that we both support and receive support from others.  I believe this is as it should be, and in earnest, I am beyond grateful to those that support my Independence! 

In celebration of our nation's Independence tomorrow, I will sing all of the appropriate songs.  I will not be going to the local festivities because it is too damn hot, and I generally don't have enough foot to make it to the end, so I'll watch the fireworks on tv and call it good.  It's just as well because I have a procedure Tuesday at five am (yes, believe it) and so an early night is in order anyway.

Finally, after the van is checked out mechanically on Wednesday, I intend to head out once again to Colorado Springs.  Hopefully, this time things will go much more smoothly and nothing will burst into flames, an experience I am depending on being "once in a lifetime,"

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and find yourself moved to remember all the people that make our independence possible.