4 July 2010
Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans!!!
My entire life, I have always cried whenever I hear Taps, and especially during "Echo Taps" which is when two buglers play a measure off. Along with Taps, the Marine's Hymn gets me bawling as well. Though, when it's played at normal tempo, I get tears welling up. The one that tears out my heart is when they play it at quarter time... OMG,.. bring on the water works. There have been a few military based movies that have used this slower, much more painful rendition of the hymn at the closing credits. I usually have to turn it off before it gets there, cause I won't make it through without bawling like a little baby.
When I left for boot camp (eight thousand years ago) I was really scared I wouldn't graduate. Amazingly, I did graduate, though much later than I should have thanks to a raging bout of chicken pox!!! I remember hearing the Hymn during graduation ceremony. It was everything I could do to choke back the tears and not let my Drill Instructors see that I was crying. I just felt so fricken proud, not only that I'd made it, but also that I was joining the ranks of some unbelievable and incredibly honorable people.
Now, when I hear the Star Spangled Banner, I get verklempt as well. Just proud of our nation, despite the flaws. People are still flocking here, striving to land on American soil. And when I went to Ellis Island a few years back, and Statue of Liberty Island,.. teary eyed again. This truly is a great nation, filled with so many people and cultures. You can't hate America, because we are part and piece of the whole wide world. No matter what country or people or culture, we have a little bit of that here. And, most of us respect cultural differences!!! Most of us love the melting pot, and love the diversity. At least, I do. Probably why I am verklempt in the first place.
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