Let's take a break ... and be a Yankee Doodle Dandy ...

Before I launch into my work biography, part 2 (I promise ... there will only be two  parts), we need to take a deep breath and say ... Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam!! The 4th of July is a holiday that all Americans can sink their teeth into ... especially if there is potato salad involved. 

When the children and my swarm of brothers and sisters were younger, we would all gather at  Covell Lake/Terrace Park in Sioux Falls for a picnic and fireworks. During the day, there would be baseball, volleyball, and horseshoes ... and one year a family pyramid, which easily included 30 people with the littlest ones climbing their way to the top! 

My uncle Steve and aunt Mary ... just a few years older than I am .. were always a part of that fun. In fact, it wasn't fun if they weren't there. We still miss you, Steve ... and likely always will. He had a ready smile, a great laugh, and a way of entertaining my mom, the likes of which she hasn't seen since he died.

Lately, our Fourth of July's have been a bit lower-keyed ... but laughter remains at the center of the celebration. Just a different group of "family" ... meaning our friends here in Lincoln. 

PS ... If you've always wanted to know the origins of a "Yankee Doodle" ... here you go! A hint ... Doodle ... means a fool.

http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folksongs/qt/YankeeDoodle.htm

And, I'm pretty sure you're going to be the only one on your block who knows that it's the state song of Connecticut! 

PSS ... But the song that you're likely humming is George M. Cohen's "Yankee Doodle Dandy." You are humming it, right? 

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's
Born on the Fourth of July
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She's my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy