Friday Before The Fourth

First day. First go. I wrote in anger during the financial crisis in '08. Now I have decided to write just for fun. I write a daily column for my clients and internal colleagues. For months I have had some of these folks say: "you ought to write a blog". Well, I guess I basically do. So here, we go.

This is not for the feint of heart. No punches pulled. If I don't like you, you will know - often.

Good morning. Ok, let's start off by being honest, my head is already on the golf course. Beyond that, it is at the pool with the kids and then watching some "made in China" fireworks, which hopefully were not part of a batch made in some small village where over 100 people died during a defective manufacturing process, launch over Waveny Park to ooh's and aah's. I am thinking about my friend's "famous" lobster tacos tomorrow night as my wife and I and a few couple sit around to sip some bourbon, some "southside's" and more than likely a bucket of "dark and stormies". I am hoping that the clock stops one of these "long" weekends and we can forever run the beach, the backyard, the golf course with our families and forget about work and the daily grind (don't get me wrong I "love" my job). However, when I think of the Fourth of July, I think about all the great things that make this country Camelot. Sure, we have our issues (as you know I think most of these start in Washington, DC) but we also have the ability to enjoy our friends and communities and celebrate an awakening of freedom that exists, and really still exists nowhere else (unless you want to pretend you are not American and are "Canadian" or a socialist in Europe). The Fourth of July is Norman Rockwell. There is no gift giving. There are kids running the block with small nuclear arsenals which make noise and spew colours. There are gatherings of all ages and flags waiving in front yards and from porches and fences. There is a general remembrance that this is a land of bountiful harvest and bountiful opportunity (unless Obama keeps taxing and spending).

Happy Fourth.

That's my view from "The Man On A Plane".