Figure 1 – Sudbury Minutemen Re-enactors, July 4th, 2017. (c) DE Wolf 2017.

It was a magnificent Fourth of July in Massachusetts; the weather was just perfect, and the company more perfect. Our town has a small town parade and that is really the essence of the meaning of the whole holiday. We have the memory of the Minutemen to live up to; so excuse us if we are a bit concerned about the ability of our institutions to survive these latest tests – or whether we even deserve their survival.

I took the image of Figure 1 of the local Minutemen (Re-enactors) this afternoon. Black and white somehow seemed appropriate.Tomight there will be the Boston Pops Concert and the fireworks. The local and national television stations have been broadcasting about the dangers of playing with fireworks. More simply, we may be reminded of what Mark Twain said about thisproblem.

” Statistics show that we lose more fools on this day than in all the other days of the year put together. This proves, by the number left in stock, that one Fourth of July per year is now inadequate, the country has grown so.”
–  Mark Twain –  Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar