Fire in the sky, Seattle

Fire in the sky, Seattle
Originally uploaded by Piero Sierra

Celebrating Freedom

Celebrating Freedom
Originally uploaded by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton

Read a Tribute Poem About Michael Jackson

Word Cloud Photo by Denny Lyon
Copyright 2 July 2009
All Rights Reserved

Read a tribute poem about the passing of a music legend over at The Social Poets blog under this post of a coffee recipe and a poem:

Libations Friday! 3 July 2009

Have a safe weekend, everyone! Thanks for visiting!

Denny

Fourth of July Quotes: Serious and Funny

Photo by Morgan Frederick @ flickr

From Denny: I just love the fireworks on this day. I also like to remember all the soldiers over the centuries who lost their lives preserving our freedom, whether they voted Democrat, Republican or not at all.

Courage is always to be respected and admired. We may not agree on whether there should be a war at all, how to conduct a war once started or how to end it. What we can agree on is to respect those who were sent to fight as our first line of defense. They paid a hefty price for the rest of their lives for those wars were always with them.

Here are some very serious awesome quotes and a few light-hearted ones as well to give you pause and a grin on this solemn national holiday.

Serious Quotes

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” – President John F. Kennedy

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~ Thomas Paine

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself." ~ Thomas Paine

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." ~ Elmer Davis

"Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have." ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Let freedom never perish in your hands." ~ Joseph Addison

Image by photobunny via Flickr

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die." ~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!" ~ Daniel Webster

"We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls." ~ Robert J. McCracken

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." ~ Abraham Lincoln

"If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace." ~ Hamilton Fish

"I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery." ~ Author Unknown

"Without freedom, no one really has a name." ~ Milton Acorda

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." ~ Benjamin Franklin

Funny Quotes

The United States is the only country with a known birthday. ~ James G. Blaine

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” ~ Erma Bombeck

"There, I guess King George will be able to read that." -
John Hancock, after signing the Declaration of Independence with a huge signature well flourished to stand out from the crowd!

Stay safe this holiday; Happy Fourth of July! Thanks for visiting!

Recipe: Coffee Orleans

Getting your morning beignets at New Orleans Cafe du Monde, a cherished tradition - Image by wallyg via Flickr

From Denny: When I think about the many trips to New Orleans and ordering this show-stopper coffee at one wonderful restaurant or another. Great fun to do for your family and friends on a holiday like the Fourth of July! Yeah, we're a bunch of show-offs here in Louisiana! :)

From: About.com

"A flaming coffee drink that will impress at a party. Maybe a little too showy for your typical morning coffee, but a wonderful spiced recipe when serving coffee cocktails for a crowd."

Ingredients:

•1 cup coffee

•1 orange

•5 Tablespoons cognac

•5 Tablespoons benedictine

•1 teaspoon brown sugar

•3 cloves, whole

Preparation:

Strip off a large piece of orange zest, and poke the cloves into it. Place in the bottom of a mug, with the brown sugar. In a saucepan, mix the cognac and benedictine and heat through. Light the alcohol and pour (flaming) into the mug. Fill mug with coffee and serve.