Appalachian American holiday

The 4th of July, the perfect celebration for a Appalachian American The only better one is Christmas. Ever since I was a little kid The 4th meant blowing things up with fire crackers and bottle rocket fights with my cousins. Then in my twenties I got a job shooting professional fireworks shows. It was the coolest job I ever had, just think to shoot off big fireworks and get paid to do it. Tari was not real comfortable with it at times as we would store all the fireworks in my garage and some years it would be half full, and she would worry as we shot the show by hand not by pushing buttons like the pro's do now. I think they took all the fun out of it. Now in my 40's I do not get the thrill as I once did, but Kenny Ray gets a gleam in his eye's when you mention firecrackers. I have always traveled to Indiana to get him some to shoot off until this year, as last year the police knocked on our door and 2 weeks ago some one on our street was setting off fireworks and the police showed up in my driveway they never came to the door. But it made mad anyway that they just assume it was Kenny Ray. So this year we went down the cabin and has a good ole boy 4th, as you can tell by the above photo. We had a good 4 wheeler

race Kenny Ray beat his ole man and he accused dad of cheating on the course by taking short cuts in the curves. We did a little fishing but Kenny Ray was more into just going up and down the lake has fast could get the boat to go which was about 42 mph when I was driving. Kenny Ray got it about 35 mph. The bass boat belongs to a friend of mine who has not used it in about 6 years it has been just sitting in his barn. Kenny Ray and I worked together and got it going we have just 3 problems left. 1 the boat takes on water when you stop, after sitting about 20 minutes the rod storage compartment fills with water and on to the floor before the bilge pump kicks in , only a minor problem unless Tari is with us. 2 The trolling motor is not working which is a must for fishing. 3 it seems that we have a lawn mower in the middle of the boat, kenny Ray and I laughed when we put in has it was the only place left as it would not fit in the truck bed with the 4 wheeler in it. I think I will offer the photo to Jeff Foxworthy, it has all the typical

you might be a redneck, 4 wheeler , 4 wheel drive truck and a bass boat.

Our Appalachian American Holiday started by Tari, Kenny Ray and I night fishing for cat fish on Friday night and is ending with picking Black Berries with my mother and

breaking green beans for dinner with my wife. along with fresh sweet corn, tomatoes and cucumbers. I can not think of any better way to celebrate freedom than by doing things that truly make you happy. And my things are so simple spending time with my family whether it be preparing a meal or catching fish or taking a short cut in a 4 wheeler race. I thank God and all of those that lost their lives, so that I can continue to live a Appalachian American dream.