Happy July 4th 2024! Each year on this date we celebrate our independence from England.
The Stars and Stripes flying over a high school football field in South Bend IN
But July 4th commemorates more than that. It’s a day that we celebrate Freedom!!! In America we have the freedom to be anything we choose. I have always had a passion for food, travel and art. That led me to a career as a caterer, jewelry artist and now food and travel writer and photographer. I’ve worn many hats over the years and I’m very grateful to have been born in America so that I’ve had the freedom to wear whichever hat pleased me at the time.
I also have the freedom to travel the country freely with my wonderful husband Steve. Steve and I have always loved exploring new places. But the last thing we could have imagined when we got married 55 years ago, was that we would be living in a home on wheels and living in each and every state in the lower 48. That’s what freedom is all about!
Our flag flying high over Notre Dame football stadium
When my mom and her family came to America in January 1923 they came for a better life. A life blessed with the freedoms that we usually take for granted. They had escaped Czarist Russia (now Ukraine). Their journey to the United States took them 2 years. But their determination and belief that they would be free in America made the trek worthwhile.
My family was sponsored to enter the USA by a cousin who was a prominent physician in Philadelphia. My Zeyda (grandfather) had a photo of this savior, Nathan Seidman, on display with a note that he’d attached that said “He saved our lives!”.
Old Glory soaring above the Lou Holtz gate at Notre Dame Stadium
In America, my Zeyda sold men’s socks and women’s hosiery from a push cart. And my Bubie (grandmother) worked as a seamstress, I can still remember them arguing over who earned more, as they told me about it. One of them made $7 a week and the other $12. To them it was a fortune.
The many flags of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish include the glorious flag of the USA
Hard work and the desire to give their family a wonderful life in the land where the streets were paved with gold allowed my Zeyda to create a beautiful life for my mother, uncle and me. Not many place on earth offer that much freedom and opportunity.
I hope that on this special day of celebrating freedom you take time to reflect on just how precious it truly is!!!
Baseball and our flag. Does it get much more American than that?
I know that I had promised to tell you about our lunch at the Original Farmers Market in L.A. as a follow up to my last post. I had forgotten that this holiday was today. On Monday I will share about our yummy repast. Promise!
