Happy Birthday America!

There really is no better way to celebrate the Nation's birthday than being here in the East Coast. Maybe because this is where "it" all started or maybe as the Country moved westward, a bit of the pomp and circumstance was lost?

About 15 years ago, my sister and I came to NY for the 4th of July and stayed with what was, back then, my ONLY set of married friends. We navigated our way with the rest of New York through overpacked Subways and overstuffed streets. We sat under the FDR (a major highway here in the City) and watched the Macy's Fireworks and felt like we were six-years-old again, giddy with pride and "ooh-ing and ahh-ing" at the amazing display of explosions in the air.

Today, I revisit the City, with 2 kids and a husband in tow, missing my sister and the memories of yester-year. Still, for the men in my life, this is a first. To be in the center of freedom, with the void of the Twin Towers and the presence of the Umpire (as insisted by my 6-year-old) State Building returning our curious gaze, we consider ourselves blessed beyond words.

Passing through Indiana a few days back, we stopped into the local Cracker Barrel Country Store for some country fried chicken and camp fire beef. As we passed through the store portion of the establishment, a 2'x2' plaque with a cutout of a Marine and the words "freedom isn't free" commanded my attention.

Indeed, it is the sacrifice of the men & women throughout the 233 years of this country that affords me and my family the luxury of being an American.

So no matter how we define freedom today, let us say an extra prayer for the individuals and their families of dedicated Americans serving the rest of this country, and make it a point to appreciate their sacrifice.

In closing, at this very moment, I am thankful that I can be chomping on a freshly toasted, authentic Hoboken bagel with fresh, soft, oozing cream cheese and sweetly smoked lox, I exercise my freedom of speech by blogging my own thoughts and posting it for you all to read in real time. Now THAT is freedom.

(Left: M&J at Rockefeller Plaza, celebrating America with hundreds of Old Glory!)