True American Independence

On July 4, 1776, our nation's forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, severing ties to England and ending their oppression at the hands of King George III.  To commemorate that fateful day, we as a nation eat flame-cooked meat and blow stuff up.

The first part of the traditional celebration was handled by my good friend Mark Simcik, whose grill-roasted chicken recipe was perfected over the course of a decade.

 That sauce is a homemade recipe and it's awesome.

Me with Lori and Mark.

As for the blowing stuff up portion of the day, I left that to the professionals while I watched from a safe distance with Jenn, the woman I met at temple on Friday.

The rain had left the ground wet, but we made do with a jacket and a backpack.

You know it's a good fireworks display when the crew lighting the rockets are in danger of smoke inhalation.

This was a great holiday, spent with both old friends and new.  My only regret is that I didn't have more time with both parties, but there's only so much time in the day.