...our nation's 247th birthday...with traditional activities involving family, food, fireworks -

- but it's just not the same anymore.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident," penned Thomas Jefferson in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Every schoolboy in my day knew and could recite those words by heart, but what Mr. J wrote next is not as well known:

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

That last phrase, dear reader, is where our Constitutional Republic was lost.

We are being ruled by incompetent despots without our consent.

No rational person believes the corrupt, cognitively impaired buffoon currently squatting in the white house actually got more legal and legitimate votes than anyone in American history - including the democrats' demi-god, BHO:

"...this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal..." - Mr. Humility, 2008. How'd that work out?

July 4th has become a memorial service for what used to be, a poignant reminder of halcyon days gone by.

Pray by God's grace we can regain that which has been lost.

The Twins Report is about the same: a slow, tense, frustrating slog through "2 steps forward, 1 step back" land.

I can tell from my co-worker's demeanor the burden of this relentless trial is wearing him down.

Please continue in prayer for these young boys, the doctors and nurses who daily minister to their medical needs, and for their beleaguered parents.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."

- 1 Peter 5:6,7

Turning to lighter fare, it was "~~Gorillas~~ Golf Balls In The Mist" 2 outings ago:

actually parred this 300 yard par 4, but it took a 30' putt to do it

...but it wasn't fog, it was smog - wildfire smoke from Canada -

- mixed with early morning fog.

Thanks to our friends from the north...

those of a certain age know these famous Canucks

...the AQI (air quality index) had been hovering between "unhealthy" and "hazardous" for several weeks.

Hopefully winter will come early to Canada - like next week - and the snow will finally extinguish their out of control wildfires.

In spite of that extended unpleasantness, my last couple of rounds of 9 have been (mostly) enjoyable.

Beautiful day on the links today...

...with clear blue skies for a change and temps in the high 50's.

And I improved a bit...had 2 pars and 2 bogeys the week before; 3 pars and a bogey today.

Should have been 4 pars...this was where I left my "1 putt for par" on 6:

That would have been 3 pars in a row, an unheard of feat in my world.

Most frustrating was the par 3 third hole. Dropped my tee shot in the sand trap right on the front slope of the green.

When I finally did manage to escape, my shot landed a foot from the pin.

If I'd done that on my first attempt it would have been a tap in for par instead of a tap in for *censored*

Time for a quick dance...

Fred Astaire, the energizer bunny of tap dance

...through the Parting Shots department:

recently spent $35 on a 1950's Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera with flash attachment, a dozen flash bulbs, and a roll of BW film. off to "the darkroom" for development; anxiously awaiting results...